Leo Dionicio Shares His Side of ‘The Challenge’ Triple DQ Story

Leo Dionicio is sharing his side of the story when it comes to the triple disqualification that happened on The Challenge‘s latest episode.

The contestant, who was in his second season in Cutthroat after being on Love Island, appeared on Johnny Bananas‘ podcast, Death, Taxes, and Bananas, and addressed his removal from the game.

Dionicio started by addressing his fellow contestant, Josh Goldstein, who was reported to have used the N-word slur in a conversation with Nelson Thomas (which Dionicio later repeated).

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“Number one, I don’t really hold hate in my heart for people after they mess up. People can mess up all the time. I don’t [go], ‘Oh my God, this person’s awful, blah blah blah.’ That’s not how I move about my life per se, right? However, in that moment, I was really, really upset because what was said was super ignorant. And I thought the hand I was dealt was pretty messed up, considering I really didn’t do sh*t wrong,” he said.

He went on to detail what he thought should have happened instead of a triple DQ. “I thought the outcome should have been like, ‘Boom, I’m good.’ Someone else should have gotten fined, and someone else should have got kicked out. But I didn’t even think I should have been part of the mix. I’m like, ‘Bro, this genuinely cannot be a fault of mine.'”

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Dionicio then admitted that when he learned he was being eliminated, he was despondent. “I literally dropped to my knees and starting crying, man, like a little kid. I could not tell you the last time I cried like that. It was probably when my grandpa died.” He then noted that, before the disqualification, he was in a good place in the Challenge season, performance-wise. Instead of immediately going home, though, he drowned his sorrows by spending a few extra weeks in Thailand.

At the end, Dionicio said that he had made peace with the decision and believed he is in good graces with the production team.

Leo discussing how he feels about his DQ#thechallenge42 pic.twitter.com/W9z3WubUOV

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“I can understand the situation, and if I put my head in there, if I put myself in their shoes, I can understand the situation. In my situation, it makes no sense, but to them, I understand why it makes perfect sense, right? And then to the other people involved, I think some should have got that as the consequence, and the other one should have probably got a fine. But I don’t know. I don’t dwell on it much anymore because what the hell is that going to do for me right now? It’s not going to bring me the money I could have won. It’s not going to bring me more time on the show,” he said. “I know I’m in good standing with production and all that. So I’m not really concerned about all that.”

Previously, Nelson Thomas, who admitted to destroying items in the kitchen in a moment of rage after Goldstein’s use of the slur, spoke out about the matter and said that Goldstein reached out to him with an apology.

The Challenge, Wednesdays, Paramount+