During the show’s 30th season in 2017, Nakagawa, 33, called Garrett, 36, a “Black motherf—— p—-” in a “racist rant” while she was intoxicated. She then yelled, “It’s all about Black motherf—— like that piece of s–t!”
Now, Garrett — who retired from the series earlier this year after season 36 — is addressing the way production handled the situation. He said it’s been “weighing heavy on my conscience” for years, but he now believes it’s a good time to “get this off my chest.”
“Drunken thoughts and verbiage is a sober heart, I’m sorry,” he said ina lengthy Instagram videoMonday. “And as Camila is singling me out for being Black and the color of my skin — it’s not as if I don’t already feel singled out because of the fact that I’m in a room filled with white cast members, that they’re all just staring at me in the middle of this room and no one is saying anything. I feel embarrassed, I’m shocked, I’m upset.”
He continued, “And I’m thinking to myself like, ‘Can someone that’s in a position of power please come in and help me?’ Like, I’m literally being attacked right now in front of everybody who I work with and no one is doing anything to help. And not even necessarily the cast members, because they’re just as in shock too. But producers or security at this point.”
Mtv (2)
In his video, Garrett said he initially believed Nakagawa would be sent home for her actions, but hostTJ Lavinentered the room the next day and immediately began discussing the game.
“I thought, ‘What the hell is going on? No one is about to talk about what happened?’ Imagine that,” he said. “The producers didn’t tell TJ to say something. I have to say something. I was the victim last night and I have to bring up why something happened to me and basically force someone to apologize — someone who wasn’t going to do it on their own. Mindblowing to me.”
Nakagawa went on to win the season.
Later in the video, Garrett added, “I feel as if the network needs to start holding cast members and anyone they employ accountable for their actions,” he said. “All eyes are going to be on you with every move that you make now.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
PEOPLE has reached out to Nakagawa for comment.
mtv
Nakagawa also addressed Garrett’s video on an Instagram Live on Tuesday, saying she does “not condone racism.”
“If there is anything in your eyes that I can be doing better, I ask you to please tell me because you can judge me all you want, that’s fine. That’s everybody’s choice. But I would actually like to take action and do something positive,” she said. “I’m taking anti-racism courses. Literally. I’m trying to educate myself so that I never make the same mistakes, so that I fully understand my part in just being supportive of the cause. That’s what I want to do, that’s it. I was wrong, period, 100 percent.”
Nakagawa, who claimed she’s tried calling Garrett to discuss the situation further, said she is “not the victim” and doesn’t “want forgiveness” for her actions.
“I don’t condone what I did. … From the bottom of my heart, I know Leroy doesn’t care about me, and that’s fine. It’s his right. I probably wouldn’t care about someone that did that to me too. But I always had a special place for him in my heart,” she continued. “I always loved him so much and I don’t even understand why I did what I did. If regret could kill, I’d be dead for sure.”
Garrett’s video follows thesudden ouster of Ashley Mitchell, 34, fromThe Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies. “Ashley has broken one of our rules,” Lavin explained. “Because of that, Ashley is no longer able to stay in the game. She has been deactivated. She is no longer able to continue in this game for the rest of the season.”
“Rules are rules and I respect @mtv and TJs call,” Mitchell, 34, wrote on Twitter after the episode. “The best apology is changed behavior. See you next time. I just want to thank everyone whose stuck with me throughout this all. Everyone knows I’m only mad at myself and it has been so hard to shake off the depression and anxiety since getting home. I have been taking anger management and reflecting a lot.”
source: people.com
