“I am still extremely disappointed and angry,” Horacio Gutierrez Jr. tells EW.
“I don’t accept it now, but I just had to roll with it.”
Now, Horacio is breaking his silence in an interview withEntertainment Weekly,insisting he actually won against Derrick.
Horacio Gutiérrez Jr, ‘The Challenge’.Jonne Roriz/MTV
“I’m not feeling any better after watching the episode,” Horacio tells EW.
(Representatives forThe Challengedid not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment.)
Jonne Roriz/MTV
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Was it as close as it seemed in the episode?
Horacio Gutierrez Jr, ‘The Challenge’.Jonne Roriz/MTV
HORACIO GUTIERREZ JR.:It was definitely close.
Most of the time [Kyland] was telling me, “You’re up by one!
You’re up by two!”
Aneesa Ferreira, Derrick Kosinski, Jenny West, Horacio Gutierrez Jr., ‘The Challenge’.MTV
I still think I won, but it is what it is.
Everybody has their version of the story.
Meanwhile Derrick is still running.
They don’t show that.
Another piece that is not seen is the pegs were not stable.
They would fall, and you had to pick them up.
That’s not me seeing that, that was the entire cast seeing that.
It’s things like that where other cast mates came in and I appreciate them.
I truly appreciate them and many others who are willing to say the version that I think truly happened.
I wasn’t speculating.
Yeah, that’s a whole other thing that was not seen.
This is not me trying to bashThe Challengein any way, shape, or form.
I absolutely love the franchise and what it’s done for me and my life.
I’ll always be so grateful and I love the game.
But I have to state the things that really happened, and that’s what went down.
And he’s still missing one.
I want to throw one on yours."
I just wanted to see if there was a difference in how fast they would drop.
They come back with that final decision and that’s what went down.
And there’s more things but that’s basically what happened.
A lot of fans on social media have been pointing that out as well.
How did that play into the final decision?
I asked TJ, “Can you yo tell me why he won?
And can you also tell me why production was helping him?
Somebody from production was putting in his pegs.
I didn’t get that.”
And he just said, “He put the 40 pegs in before you did.”
And that’s it.
It was nothing against Derrick either.
Even though that person never called for a check, never realized it.
To me, I was like, “That’s not my problem.”
Well, that’s not my problem.
That’s not my fault.
He might’ve maybe put all 40, I’ll give him that.
Hat off to you.
But at the end of the day, you never called for a check.
You never actually completed it in that sense.
It’s not fair, and we think that Horacio won and it’s just not right."
And then nobody responded.
Everybody just stayed quiet and that was it.
How does it feel having Jenny then and other cast members now speaking out against the ruling?
Seeing them speak up for me definitely means a lot.
It makes me more emotional.
Derrick will also have his version, because he lived it in a certain pop in of way.
But everybody else on the stage was looking at this, so it is nice to hear them agree.
You didn’t want to argue with TJ, but did you talk to producers about it?
Did you ask to see the footage?
How long did it take you to accept the ruling?
I’m going to be honest, I didn’t fight, and maybe I should have.
At that point I’m like, “There’s no turning back.”
I had a feeling like, “Yeah, this is done.
They’re going to get me out.”
I didn’t want to make an entire scene.
That’s just not who I am.
I know many others probably would’ve, and they’re right to do so.
I just didn’t feel like that’s me.
It wasn’t until that same night when I felt it.
There’s no changing anything.
MTV
How has this experience changed how you see your future onThe Challenge?
I truly don’t know what’s next for me.
I’m kind of just trying to cope with everything.
That’s how I see it.
There were rumors you were saying you were retiring after this season, which would be heartbreaking.
Yeah, believe me, a lot of people have sending plenty of messages and support.
Did you walk away with any new vendettas against Bananas, Laurel … or even production?
No, not really.
Everybody was always very nice to me.
I’m not going to say, “I’ve got a vendetta against production.”
I just have to roll with it, and that’s it.
I am still extremely disappointed and angry, but it is what it is.
If there was any season to win, it had to be this one.
What happened on 39, it wasn’t supposed to happen that way.
This is now my time.
Nobody’s going to stop me."
I guess I spoke a little too soon and ran into some people I just can’t beat.
I just proved that I am the most overrated.
That’s just my mindset.
Horacio, you’re breaking my heart.
Out of your three seasons,thisis the fluke season.
Hopefully, if you continue to come back, you’ll see that for yourself.
That means a lot.
And thank you for listening and hearing my side of things.
I could feel the emotions taking over, but we got through it and I’m glad.
The Challenge: Battle of the Erasairs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on MTV.
