‘The Challenge: USA’ Season 2: Inside Johnny ‘Bananas’ and Paulie Calafiore’s Feud

CBS’s The Challenge: USA Season 2 brings Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio and Paulie Calafiore into the spotlight. The competitors have both competed in MTV’s The Challenge and had a well-established feud that spanned years. Here’s what to know about the relationship between Johnny “Bananas” and Paulie.

[Spoiler alert: The Challenge: USA Season 2 spoilers ahead regarding week 2.]

Johnny ‘Bananas’ Devenanzio and Paulie Calafiore feuded before filming ‘The Challenge: USA’ Season 2

Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio and Paulie Calafiore feuded for years before filming The Challenge: USA Season 2 together.

It began when Paulie and The Challenge champion Cara Maria Sorbello started dating in 2018. Johnny was good friends with Cara, but their relationship shifted as she became close with Paulie. Early in Cara and Paulie’s relationship, Cara realized that Paulie had another girlfriend, Danielle Maltby. Cara and Paulie resolved Paulie’s infidelity, but their issues certainly caused waves in Cara’s friendships.

“She’s in a dark place right now with a dark individual,” Johnny told Us Weekly in 2019. “I don’t fault her for being a little bit, I feel like, misguided. It’s unfortunate. … She’s just a different person. She’s changed a lot.”

During the cheating scandal, Johnny commented once more. “Cara Maria found herself in an unfortunate position with a very sociopathic, narcissistic human being, and I feel bad for her,” he told HollywoodLife. 

Since this initial feud, Johnny and Paulie have taken jabs at each other online. Paulie once told his followers that Johnny threatened to have him permanently removed from The Challenge. “Know what else John needs to apologize for … trying to get me banned two seasons in a row … but that tea is for another day,” Paulie tweeted.

“He tried to get me banned with Cara after that whole ‘cheating’ scandal came to be,” Paulie said while speaking to PeopleTV. “That was, in my opinion, just a cowardly way to try to get somebody to not come back who really has done nothing wrong other than go on the show and compete.”

Paulie also claimed he extended an olive branch to Johnny, but he wouldn’t take it.

The most recent public spat between Johnny and Paulie occurred in November 2022. Paulie threw shade at Johnny for his showmance with Moriah Jadea and past failed relationships. Paulie later removed the tweet and apologized, calling his own behavior “disrespectful.”

The enemies became friends while filming the show

So, where do Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio and Paulie Calafiore stand in The Challenge: USA Season 2? Thankfully, the competitors put the past behind them. They now have the best relationship they’ve ever had, as they had to work together on the same team.

“I think it worked out better in a weird way that Paulie and I were on the same team,” told Us Weekly. “Only because coming into this season, he was the only one I really had long-standing issues with. He hasn’t been on [The Challenge] in a while. We’ve obviously had a very public beef. So, by putting the two of us in the same team, it almost kind of neutralized that right out of the gate.”

Johnny also mentioned that he and Paulie squashed their beef after sleeping in beds next to each other. “So, we went from hating each other to being roommates [and] bunk mates very quickly,” the champ added.

Paulie also told Us Weekly that he hoped to play The Challenge: USA Season 2 with more kindness and respect. “Ultimately, I went into this season with the mindset of, like, ‘There’s always two wolves that everybody has within themselves, and you can choose to feed one or the other.’ So, I chose to feed the one that was peaceful,” he stated. “Not to say that the not peaceful one wasn’t chirping in my ear, being like, ‘Hey, what’s going on? What are you doing?’ … I really had to keep my eye on the prize this season.”

The Challenge: USA Season 2 airs on Thursdays and Sundays on CBS.

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