The Challenge Cuts Ties With Dee Nguyen Over "Offensive Comments" About Black Lives Matter

MTV's The Challenge announced it is cutting ties with Dee Nguyen as a result of her "offensive comments on the Black Lives Matter movement."

By Elyse Dupre Jun 09, 2020 3:30 PMTags
Watch: "The Challenge" Cuts Ties With Dee Nguyen for "Offensive Comments"

The Challenge is cutting ties with Dee Nguyen.

The MTV show announced on Monday that it "severed ties with her" as a result of her "offensive comments on the Black Lives Matter movement."

"Out of respect for our Challengers, we'll air our season as planned," the tweeted statement said about Dee, who appears on The Challenge: Total Madness. "We strongly condemn systemic racism and stand with those raising their voices against injustice."

A few days ago, Bayleigh Dayton, who is also a contestant on the show, shared screen shots of an interaction Dee had with an Instagram user over her Blackout Tuesday post. The social media user told Dee to "READ THE F--KING ROOM."  

"All you posted was a black square and went about your day and posting your lame ass thirst traps," the follower continued. "Wake up!!! People are dying. Smh."

Dee then replied by writing "people die every f--king day." 

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"U don't know me or what I do," the since-deleted post continued. "I suggest u wake the f--k up and get off social media."

MTV

According to the screen shots, Dee also shared a Twitter post in which she wrote, "IDK why some of u think I'm anti BLM. I've been saying that since the day I lost my virginity."

Bayleigh then wrote "THIS IS NOT HOW YOU SUPPORT BLM" and expressed how she was "disgusted and disappointed." 

"THIS IS NOT A TREND," she continued. "THIS IS LIFE OR DEATH FOR US. Posting for clout about the death of black people? Shame on you @deenguyenMTV."

The two continued to exchange messages. Soon, Christopher Jordan "Swaggy C" Williams, who also appears on The Challenge and is married to Bayleigh, jumped in.

"Dee acts like a villain on social media then calls every cast member crying her eyes out EVERY DAY saying she's struggling & the fans hate her and she has to 'play the part of a bitch,'" he wrote. "Fakest person on the cast by far. Does everything for clout."

He also claimed Dee texted him, "Hey make sure you tell Bayleigh to keep me blocked & you still talk bad about me. I'm thinking of storylines for season 36."

"Everything is not for f--king clout and drama," he wrote. "The f--k. CLOWN. I'm bout to air her whole s--t out. Using BLM for clout."

Swaggy C continued to make a number of claims about Dee, including that she "didn't do ONE ACT OF CHARITY" until their castmate Wes Bergmann came up with the Friends and Benefits show and that she "always" wants to "solidify a storyline for next season."

According to The Ashley's Reality TV Roundup, which first reported the news, Dee later posted about "cancel culture" on Instagram.

"What some of your 'faves' are doing is creating a cancel culture on my colleagues," she wrote, per the outlet. "Don't fall for it or buy into it. Focus on within and drown out the noise. We're all in this together." 

However, she later issued an apology via Twitter.

"I am sorry for the insensitive tweet I posted earlier," she wrote. "I was being defensive and not speaking from my heart. But there's no excuse. I also want to extend an apology to Bayleigh and Swaggy—who are my cast mates and deserve my respect and compassion."

She then added, "BLM to me every day. I'm trying to do the best I can with what is currently accessible to me."

Per The Ashley's, Tula "Big T" Fazakerley also addressed Dee's offensive tweets in a post on Instagram Stories, calling them "disrespectful, utterly degrading and wholely insensitive." She also claimed she was "not surprised" by the posts.

"She said that she felt like she was 'blacker' than me because I didn't know the name of a musician and because she hadn't seen me fight and be aggressive," she wrote, per the outlet. "I felt like she was trying to make me fit her idea of a 'stereotype.'"

After MTV made the announcement, Dee issued a separate apology on Twitter.

"The last 24 hours have made me [realize] what is important and that is forgiveness," she wrote on Tuesday. "I would like to offer my sincerest apology to my colleagues to whom I have hurt directly and indirectly due to my insensitive remarks. Let me be clear I am a POC that cares about BLM. I believe in this movement and I am stepping away from social media to focus on my wellbeing and mental health. This is not a goodbye, it's a I will see you again. To my fans, thank you for believing in me and for your support. It helps. I see every single one of you and I remember your stories. Stay strong and stay safe my friends."