Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio has become a familiar face from his years on The Challenge. But now as a late-night show host on NBC's Celebrity Sleepover, Johnny is finding ways to incorporate his Challenge history on his new TV gig. While speaking exclusively with Screen Rant, Johnny shared how Challenge fans will be able to adapt to his transition into hosting.
As a six-time Challenge champion, Johnny Bananas is among the certified GOATs on the show. His years-long feud with Wes Bergmann entertained viewers over the seasons. Most recently, the former frienemies put their differences aside and formed an alliance that ended up helping Johnny take home his fourth win in Total Madness. After skipping out on Double Agents, Johnny was preparing himself for his latest television appearance as a talk show host. With it being very different from how viewers are used to seeing him, Johnny found ways to familiarize his fans with the new setup.
During an exclusive chat with Screen Rant, Johnny shared how he incorporated aspects of The Challenge into his Celebrity Sleepover set. "Challenge fans are gonna get a kick out of the background, because a large percentage of all the little random knickknacks behind me are all Challenge-related, from my days on The Challenge," Johnny revealed before listing some of the mementos. "My helmet from Total Madness is up there; my award from the Real World Awards Bash, where I was the hottest male, is up there; there's a little skull up there, see if you could find it, from my infamous season of Rivals III with Sarah." He noted how hard he is working to "combine the two worlds" in efforts of welcoming "the fans out there who are coming over from The Challenge to cross pollinate and integrate into this new world."
For those wondering if Johnny has toned down some of the more fun elements of his personality, the MTV star insists that it's only new beginnings and Bananas is still the Bananas we all know and love. "I'm not losing who I am, either," Johnny declared. "For people who've gotten to know me over the years on The Challenge, it's not like I'm gonna be sitting there all buttoned up in a business suit and be a completely different guy." With almost 20 years under his belt on reality television, Johnny is looking forward to viewers seeing a new side to him. "I just like to think of it as you're going to get Johnny Bananas as just a little more serious, polished-up version at times," he said.
He noted how long his superiors have tried to get him to change, to no avail. "Teachers have been trying since I was in elementary school to break me of being the mischievous guy with that happy-go-lucky fun nature," he shared. "That's never gonna go away, so you kind of get the best of both worlds." It looks like Johnny is only adding to his portfolio and finding new platforms to broadcast for which the vibrant personality Challenge viewers praise him