‘The Challenge’: Why Tori Deal Wants Viewers to Keep an Open Mind Ahead of ‘World Championship’ (Exclusive)

Tori Deal has made a name for herself on The Challenge after seasons of being a top-tier competitor. Her hard work paid off on the most recent season of the MTV competition, Ride or Dies, which she won alongside her partner, Devin Walker-Molaghan. Now, she’s heading into the latest spinoff of the flagship series, The Challenge: World Championship, with her own championship under her belt. How is she approaching the new competition? And how does she deal with all of the talk surrounding her Challenge journey? Deal opened up about it all during an interview with PopCulture.com. 

The Challenge: World Championship marks Deal’s first season of the show since her win on Ride or Dies. Did that win affect how she approached the newest Challenge spinoff? The Are You the One? alum explained that it definitely affected her gameplay on World Championship, especially as a win often comes with a “target” on your back.

“I think it’s long known in the Challenge world that when you win a championship title, there’s most likely going to be a target on your back. But very quickly, I realized being in the house that I was with so many people who had that championship title as well,” Deal said. “This is the World Championship, so everybody who came from their countries to represent their countries is coming in with a very good understanding of the game, is either already a champ, has made it to a final, or had done something profound in their season.” As a result, she added that “everybody was a threat” in their own way. 

World Championship may be a brand new experience for Deal and her fellow competitors, but she’s no stranger to the Challenge world itself. Unfortunately, that means that she’s also more than aware of the negativity that the contestants face from time to time, particularly from some of the more impassioned viewers. But, Deal has a message for that specific contingent of viewers, and it’s an important one to keep in mind as fans head into yet another Challenge season. 

“If people are out there and they’re talking crap on social media and they’re making allegations, do your due diligence and look for what specifically they’re talking about,” the reality star said. “Analyze whatever media they’re referring to, and decide for yourself whether you believe if what that person is saying about you is true or not.” Deal added that she’s had to navigate bullying from “trolls” in the past who have tried to “manipulate” a narrative to make her look a certain way. She continued, “But, in reality, I try to be the most understanding person I possibly can be. I think a lot of us do, and unless I’m directly coming out and saying something, then don’t take it from somebody else’s mouth. Look back at all the things that we, the challengers, say ourselves and decide for yourself how you feel about us.” The Challenge: World Championship airs on Wednesdays on Paramount+.