The Challenge All Stars 3 Player Preview: KellyAnne Judd
I just want to say, KellyAnne Judd is a fucking awesome Challenge competitor and Reality TV character. KellyAnne has always been a damn good competitor, has had fun showmances & hookups during her seasons, is willing to give hilarious confessionals that don’t always put her in the best light, and importantly, she’s authentically herself. She does not get the credit she deserves primarily because three of her four original seasons (The Island, Bloodlines, Rivals 3) have become regarded as some of the worst Challenge seasons ever. Hell, I’d argue the Ruins is bottom tier as well. It isn’t fair to her as she’s been a star/bright spot in those seasons. KellyAnne is an absolute gem, and after tying for 1st among females in the Challenge All Stars 1 Final, she is ready to bring home a championship that comes with some money.
KellyAnne’s Cheat Sheet (TLDR Version)
Introducing KellyAnne: She debuted as a rookie on the Island after doing the Real World Sydney. Immediately, eyes were on KellyAnne for her looks and her energetic character. When it came to the actual game, KellyAnne stood out as someone who wasn’t willing to lie down and let the MOB alliance steamroll. KellyAnne had an epic endurance face-off win against an all-time competitor Rachel Robinson (defeated Robin Hibbard too). She became best friends with Challenge legend Evelyn Smith. Evelyn respected KellyAnne as a competitor, which is the equivalent of Larry Bird respecting an opponent as a basketball player. Sadly, KellyAnne couldn’t make the Final of the Island after getting her key stolen and coming up short Evelyn in the last face-off of the season.
Then KellyAnne came back for the Ruins with her new boyfriend, Wes Bergmann. Wes being public enemy number one got KellyAnne a ton of hate from different people and led to the house forcing a KellyAnne/Evelyn elimination in the second episode. Ultimately, Evelyn decided to cede the win to her friend, and from there, KellyAnne worked her ass off on a terrible team. KellyAnne defeated 3x Champion Veronica Portillo in a Hog Tie-type elimination and then went to the Final, where she and Sarah Rice almost pulled out a massive upset win. We didn’t see her for over half a decade after. KellyAnne was supposed to appear on Battle of the Seasons alongside Dunbar, Isaac, and Ashli as Team Sydney, issues led to them getting dropped literally after getting to Turkey.
She finally came back for Bloodlines & Rivals 3. On Bloodlines, she performed solidly, taking out Nany in an endurance elimination and then losing to Jenna in one of the weirder carnival game eliminations we’ve ever seen. A tiny part of me believes if KellyAnne wins that funky elimination, she and her Cousin Anthony probably have a non-zero shot of winning the Final. The partnership between her and Cara’s Cousin Jamie on Rivals 3 was surprisingly disappointing for two strong players. They were never on the same page, barely beat Nelson & Amanda in elimination only with help from the crowd, and then came up short to Wes & Nany in a later elimination.
We didn’t see KellyAnne for a while again. She was an alternate for Vendettas (a weird choice by casting). During this hiatus from the show, KellyAnne dealt with heavy metal poisoning that didn’t allow her to work out for two years before doing All Stars Season 1. It makes KellyAnne coming back to be a top performer in the challenges, never seeing an elimination, and tying for first place among females in the Final super impressive! I don’t think KellyAnne got anywhere near the recognition Jonna did for coming in 1st (and I say this as one of the biggest Jonna fans on the planet), especially considering she was the top women’s performer in the mega endurance portion at the end. Nonetheless, KellyAnne is back and should get viewed as a massive threat to win.
Player Vitals & Stats
KellyAnne Judd: 35 Years Old, 5'4, 4 Seasons, 4–2 Elimination Record, 1x Finalist, 1 All Star Season, 1x All Star Finalist, 1st Place Female All Stars 1
Skills and Physical Strength: Let’s get the negative out of the way: KellyAnne is super petite — she is one of the thinnest people to ever compete on the Challenge. You throw her into a competition where players have to carry massive amounts of weight or a physical headbanger, and she probably won’t do well as that’s not her thing.
Moving on to the positives, KellyAnne is one of the strongest players compared to their size. She can carry her body weight with ease, in part due to all the yoga she has done over the years. Yoga has given her a great sense of balance which comes in handy for heights challenges. KellyAnne has excellent cardio, as seen in the Final last season, is decent in the water as a swimmer, and simply moves well as an athlete. Despite being a vegetarian, KellyAnne is actually one of the best eaters in Challenge history. She’s a real threat in about any daily challenge.
SSMP (Social, Strategic, Mental, and Political) Game: Flat-out, KellyAnne is an awful social/political player. Which is wild as KellyAnne is super likable, fun, and a strong competitor. She should be able to make allies and coast through games with ease. Instead, KellyAnne happens to be on the wrong side of the alliance game almost every time, fighting her way from the bottom. I do respect that she stands up for her beliefs and rides with the people she enjoys and is loyal towards. Mentally, KellyAnne is great at memorization, is competent with puzzles, and is generally quite bright.
Going into this game, KellyAnne’s number one ally is Kendal, and that’s great because they’re both fantastic physical competitors who can win comps to keep each other safe. They could also get targeted as a pair and pitted against one another. KellyAnne is close with Nehemiah; if she could merge herself and Kendal with his side (Wes, Melinda, Laterrian), they would have a solid six-person group to start with and potentially expand on.
I’m curious how KellyAnne and Brad will mix; before Vendettas, there was a famous Twitter spectacle where the two may have had a dalliance and got called out by the BrainCandy Podcast & Tori Hall (KA & Brad never hooked up, but had become super close). We thought we would see the two on Vendettas, then KellyAnne randomly got made an alternate, Brad ended up in a showmance and relationship with Britni Thornton, and everyone forgot about the two after that.
In terms of strategy, KellyAnne plays with her heart and is willing to be bold and make big moves to win. However, I think KellyAnne’s cardio alone makes her such a threat in a Final that she doesn’t need to make waves. Other players should be trying to go after KellyAnne, if anything. If KellyAnne can stay under the radar, I like her chances. On All Stars 1, KellyAnne got blessed by the fact Kendal was public enemy #1 and had to go into a bunch of eliminations as it allowed her to sneak into the Final without a worry.
Eliminations & Winning Potential:
We have seen KellyAnne win eliminations that require cardio, quick-thinking, mental fortitude, and good strength to weight ratio. If the elimination isn’t a headbanger or weight-based, KellyAnne has a good chance in most eliminations. The only times we have seen her compete in a clean 1-on-1 elimination where it got semi-physical was her blindfolded soccer match against Nany on Rivals 3. In that elimination, KellyAnne basically said that Nany was able to do whatever to her due to the size advantage. The goal should be to avoid eliminations at all costs.
Can KellyAnne win? Absolutely, no questions about it; we saw her come on All Stars 1 and tie for first in the Final after not training much due to severe metal poisoning. She will be a contender to win, and if you put a gun to my head, I’d maybe even call her the favorite to win by the slightest of hairs. There will be 6 or 7 women all around the same level of talent where it could genuinely be a toss-up on any given day. What I like about KellyAnne is she’s been good since Day 1 of her Challenge career, and the most recent time we saw her, she has once again proven to be one of the best. I can’t say that about everyone on the cast, for better or worse.
KellyAnne’s Overall Rating: 87/100
