Jonna Mannion made a huge move against her long-time friend KellyAnne Judd on The Challenge: World Championship episode 3, but it may have put her game in danger. Jonna is a two-time winner of The Challenge: All Stars, and so far on World Championship, she's had a great run. Not only was Jonna picked first out of all the female returning legends when it was time for the global MVPs to draft their partner, but she and Grant pulled off the first weekly challenge win. However, that win brought along a responsibility to select two teams for potential elimination.Despite their friendship of several years, Jonna quickly set her sights on KellyAnne and her partner, Tristan Phipps. The move came after KellyAnne accidentally let it slip that she was thinking of targeting the USA team right in front of the reigning champion of The Challenge Tori Deal, who happens to be a member of Team USA. The slip-up didn't make KellyAnne look great, and Jonna immediately began to worry about being allied with someone who played a messy game. However, KellyAnne expressed her disappointment and irritation over the thought of Jonna betraying their friendship, which was only a temporary solution.
The Challenge's Jonna Broke An Alliance With KellyAnne
In the end, Jonna ended up selecting KellyAnne and Tristan for elimination, but the move may have made her look untrustworthy and an easy choice for someone else to throw in. Although KellyAnne doesn't have the most stellar elimination record, and Tristan lacks experience after The Challenge: UK's short run, they were fired up from the sudden betrayal and played extremely well. It also helped that The Challenge star Nelson Thomas struggled with that particular elimination, leading to a landslide victory for KellyAnne and Tristan. With KellyAnne back in the house, it's clear Jonna may have made a grave error.
KellyAnne's Return To The Challenge Puts Jonna In A Bad Spot
The biggest issue with Jonna's move is that she didn't give KellyAnne a heads-up; instead, she led her to believe that she truly did want to be allies. This error will make Jonna look untrustworthy moving forward, as no other competitors will ever know if her word truly means anything. It also doesn't help that Jonna and KellyAnne had a friendship of several years because those who are just meeting and bonding with Jonna for the first time may feel like their brief relationship means very little, considering how quickly Jonna threw in her oldest friend. Jonna was trying to play The Challenge without emotion.
Another factor that could hurt Jonna's game in the long run following this decision is the easy vote other competitors will likely throw at her. On any season of The Challenge, it's better to pile on to one person rather than making waves and creating new enemies. Others in the house could see Jonna and KellyAnne's feud as a valid reason to target both of them, as it wouldn't generate any new drama. With KellyAnne back in the house, she could easily rally others to turn against Jonna. In order to avoid losing power, Jonna and Grant will have to try to keep winning.
Although Jonna's move was logical, considering KellyAnne's turbulent gameplay so far this season, the decision may come back to haunt her. Losing the trust of the house and becoming an easy target are two surefire ways for competitors on The Challenge to find themselves in an elimination round. Hopefully, for Jonna, the drama will start up elsewhere to take the heat off her.
The Challenge: World Championship streams Wednesdays on Paramount+