The Challenge: USA eliminated player reveals Hall Brawl concussion is why he left after losing
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Wednesday's episode of The Challenge: USA.
Leo Temory wants everyone to know he's not a sore loser or a poor sport — despite what it looked like on The Challenge: USA.
In Wednesday's episode, it appeared as though the Amazing Race alum refused to go back into the elimination arena after losing Hall Brawl to Big Brother's Enzo Palumbo. But speaking to EW the morning after the episode aired, he revealed that he was actually being taken to the hospital — that's the real reason he couldn't go back to say goodbye to everyone.
"I had a concussion, which sucked," Temory says. "The stunt guy thought that I did, and then the medics, they didn't speak English so they just sent me to the hospital to get checked out."
Temory adds that he was "actually quite shaken up afterwards," which the episode didn't show at all. "The medics and the stunt team, they called the ambulance — the ambulance was on their way, and that's why I couldn't say bye, because they told me I've got to sit here and wait," he explains. "The communication from the back of the arena and the front wasn't in line, so when [the producer heard talking in the episode] came out to say, 'Is he coming back out?' a lot of them didn't speak English and they're saying it's 'pointless' because I've got to go in this ambulance that just arrived."
Jonne Roriz/CBS Enzo Palumbo and Leo Temory on 'The Challenge: USA'
Regardless of how the episode made him look, Temory doesn't hold any ill will about the editing that made it seem like he refused to go back into the arena. But he does want fans to know the truth. "I have the utmost respect for [host] TJ [Lavin], and I definitely wanted to shake his hand give him a big hug, because I was a big fan of his," he says.
As for that final exit interview where he called everyone a bunch of "snakes," Temory explains that he wasn't even talking about his elimination — he recorded that interview for an entirely different episode.
"If you saw me on The Amazing Race, I'm all about positivity, bringing good energy, that's how I've been so successful on the shows and in real life," he says. "Yeah, there was a lot of animosity towards some of the players, but that interview you saw was from when me and Sarah [Lacina] got blindsided. If you go back and watch the outfit [I was wearing], that was from that, that's why I said they're all snakes and I was upset about that. I didn't do my exit interview because I was in the hospital. That's why they didn't have any any footage of me talking, so they put that clip in there. When TJ says, 'He's taking some time for himself,' that was added way later because… I left in a stretcher."
Check out Temory's full interview with EW in the video above to see what else he had to say about his elimination and why he thinks he actually got first place in the daily challenge instead of Ben Driebergen — and to see a special guest pop in to say hello. (Of course it's his cat.)
The Challenge: USA airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
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