"She did get asked for season 40": The Challenge 40 star KellyAnne Judd opens up about previous champion Evelyn Smith

The Challenge 40
The Challenge 40 star KellyAnne Judd | Image Source: Instagram/ @thechallenge

The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras recently eliminated 8 challengers from its second episode. Among those participants was KellyAnne Judd. She recently made an appearance on Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio’s podcast, Death, Taxes, and Bananas, on August 22, 2024.

Recently, The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras aired their brand new season 40 on Wednesday, August 14, 2024, on MTV. The show features 40 contestants from different Eras, i.e., the show’s previous seasons.

After being eliminated during the second episode of The Challenge 40, KellyAnne Judd shared her experience and other things. They also discussed how the show wanted to cast Evelyn Smith, a three-time champion, and contacted KellyAnne to try to talk to Evelyn about it.

"She (Evelyn Smith) did get asked for season 40. They even reached out to me to try to convince her to do it. She’s too busy,” shared KellyAnne Judd.

The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras: KellyAnne Judd shared more about three-time champion Evelyn Smith

Challenge 40 star KellyAnne Judd, during her recent appearance on Johnny Bananas' podcast, Death, Texas, and Bananas, shared many exciting things. They also talked about how The Challenge 40 wanted to have three-time champion Evelyn Smith on the show.

Evelyn Smith and Paula Meronek won The Challenge—2011 Rivals. After that, she attended Harvard Law and was busy leading various political campaigns. She has also been associated with her work and positions in the government.

KellyAnne Judd, who is still in touch with Evelyn, shared more during the Johnny Bananas' podcast:

"I do keep in touch with Evelyn, to an extent, and she’s doing great. So busy. She’s the most interesting person. Smartest, most unique person I know. I miss her so much."

According to The Challenge showrunner Justin Booth, as he shared on August 14, 2024, to The Rolling Stone about the 40th season of the show:

"We wanted 40 to be special, and to be special, we had to get the largest names that we possibly could that are affiliated with our show. Obviously, we swung and missed with a few people, and that was unfortunate, but we got a great, great cast. These are some of our most famous and most popular kids."

For the viewers who don’t know much about Evelyn, her first appearance on The Challenge universe was in 2006. She has won The Inferno 3, The Island and Rivals.

Apart from Veronica Portillo, Evelyn Smith became the second woman to win three seasons. She is also the youngest winner of The Challenge, having won it at the age of 19.


Fans can stream The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras on Wednesdays at 8 pm ET/ PT on MTV.

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Edited by Sarah Nazamuddin Harniswala