Nelson Thomas claims MTV and Bunim-Murray Productions “turned their back” on him following his March 2023 near-fatal car accident, which later resulted in the 35-year-old being arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI).
As The Ashley reported earlier this month, despite undergoing numerous hospitalizations, surgeries and physical therapy sessions over the last year, The Challenge star recently had his right foot and lower leg amputated due to severe injuries he had sustained in the accident.
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In a video shared to Reddit this week, Nelson is seen speaking to ‘Challenge’ cast member Nany Gonzalez on TikTok about the alleged lack of support–- financial and otherwise-– he was offered by MTV and BMP in the wake of his accident and subsequent DWI. While he acknowledged in the video that cast members are provided insurance while working on shows for the company, Nelson expressed frustration over the support that is offered going forward.
“ … what do I do afterwards?” Nelson asks. “How do I retire? Are you going to give me a job?”
Regarding his particular situation, Nelson insisted that neither MTV nor BMP stepped in to help him after his accident.
“They did not,” he said when Nany asked if the network or production company assisted him with insurance or in any other way post-accident. “ … What I expected from MTV is to reach out to me and say, ‘Hey, how can we help you,’ ya know? But when the whole DWI came out, a lot of people turned their back on me … .”
(As The Ashley previously reported, Nelson received backlash for omitting the fact that his own drinking was the cause of the accident. He had accepted donations via a GoFundMe to help with his medical expenses, but did not inform anyone about his DWI. Once it was exposed, some fans demanded their donations back. Nelson eventually apologized to his fans for not be forthcoming about the DWI.)
In his new interview with Nany, Nelson said at that time, he was fighting for his life in the hospital, but was advised by his lawyer not to address details of his accident publicly, as he was still “fighting in court.”
Later in the video, Nelson claimed he was not trying to “bash on” MTV or BMP, acknowledging that cast members are “blessed to have that platform.”
“ … I don’t know if they just didn’t want to reach out because of everything that was going on … ,” he added.
On Wednesday, Nelson posted a statement to Threads addressing the comments he made about MTV and Bunim-Murray Productions in the video, claiming he understood why more help was not provided to him.
“Naturally, I would have loved more support from MTV and BMP regarding my insurance, as anyone would,” he wrote. “While I’ve dedicated a significant portion of my life to MTV, it’s crucial to recognize the business aspect. So I understand they were limited to what they could have done for me legally.”
You can watch the clip of Nelson and Nany’s conversation below.
Nelson says MTV and Bunim/Murray turned their back on him after his DWI
byu/bwermer inMtvChallenge
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(Photos: MTV; Instagram; Reddit)
That’s ridiculous. The Challenge isn’t a job. You shouldn’t expect handouts because you were on a few seasons (and never won)
MTV is a business with the eyes of the world on them. If they supported him or defended him after his choice, can you imagine the repercussions? I know these cast members feel like they’re a big family, but first and foremost, MTV is a business that has to watch its own back. I’m sure they have a huge legal team that instructed every single employee to keep their mouths shut when it came to Nelson. It’s not like they should be expected to risk their own jobs for him, geez.
This a-hole is so absolutely infuriating, he’s an insufferable man see-you-next-tuesday.
Why would MTV, or anyone else for that matter, give two flying rats testes about “helping him out” when he DROVE DRUNK ON PURPOSE and HURT HIMSELF? Why is it anyone’s responsibility to give two shits? They’re not “limited because of business aspects”, they’re limited because it’s not their responsibility, end of.
Dude, get tf over it and be a big boy. Put your big boy panties on and pay your own damn medical bills. Do you expect all former employers to ensure you always have money, insurance, a cute little pat on the back when you endanger the lives of countless others because you’re an a-hole who can’t accept personal responsibility and thinks he should be able to drive drunk as often as he wants without being held accountable, too?
FFS, whiney ass.
These comments have me feeling better. Glad no one else is feeling any bit sorry for him. You don’t like how they treated you, yet you still trade on their name everyday of your life?? Maybe stop talking about them if you so much better off. ✌🏻
Any time he talks about the wreck that HE CAUSED, it’s like he wants the world to pity him. I have no sympathy for drunk drivers.
They don’t owe you crap Nelson. YOU could have killed innocent people in that wreck you chose to have.
WTF would MTV care if you knowingly got behind the wheel drunk? That’s an entitled asinine response. He has go fund me money and from what I understand he only reimbursed donations if someone asked him to. He now has another fund raiser that he is receiving money on. His go fund me is also still active and getting donations. As of today $59,610 raised of $200,000 goal. Not only that but he went to Mexico for expensive stem cell treatments. Where did he get the money for that? Pretty sure you can’t put that shit on a payment plan and still get the stem cells.
It is not the public’s responsibility or MTV to pay for his stupidity. He has more resources than many of us. That would be like me contacting an employer that I worked for in the past and expect them to reach out and help me financially and legally. Kind of like Jenelle who hasn’t been with MTV in years did a post about how they wouldn’t help with Jace’s mental health needs.
The audacity of these people is mind blowing.🤯
🥴 holy shit these MTVers are DELUSIONAL
cry me a river, nelson ~ the tiny violins 🎻 are playing for you. 🙄🙄
what is WITH former MTV ‘stars’ (nelson, swamp queen 🧟♀️) who expect hand-holding and support ad infinitum? you did shows for them; now you don’t ~ they’re no longer responsible for you. time to take accountability for your lives and (often dumb) decisions.
oh, and if he’s close enough to nany to be speaking on tiktok about these personal issues, he should at least know how to spell her name. 🥴🤓
**speaking WITH HER on tiktok
Nelson needs to stop talking.
I had a DUI 6 years ago and this was the worst mistake of my life and I literally wanted no help from anyone because I didn’t deserve it for making such an idiotic decision, I pled guilty and took my lumps. The way he talks about this decision shows he has no remorse and feels sorry for him not for what he did… not that I have room to judge of course being a fellow idiot.
I am glad you have grown from your mistake. I know a lot of people say Nelson has changed, but how does anyone know he has? Its only been a year. He spent most of that in hospitals too. Time will show if he has learned from this, but right now whining that MTV didn’t help him shows that he hasn’t grown any. Congratulations on your sobriety!
He hasn’t changed and literally every comment he makes about it shows he has not changed, and has no intention to.
He hasn’t even accepted responsibility for his actions yet. He has openly admitted, several times, that he frequently gets drunk and drives home because “it’s easier”, “everyone does it”, and doesn’t plan to stop because it’s not a problem. He wants other people to pay his bills and he whines when they won’t.
Every time he opens his mouth about this whole thing it almost….and I say almost because I’m not a heinous monster…makes people wish he had done even worse damage to himself because maybe then he’d really learn. The idiot is losing a foot, a whole damn foot and lower part of his leg, and he STILL doesn’t admit the severity of it. Ugh
I hope he gets in deep shit for the fraud that’s been reported. Accepting/collecting donations based on false pretenses is a crime that gets convictions more often than driving drunk does (yeah, color us all confused on that one). It might not get jail time, but whiney boy will have to pay every last cent back, and then some. How will he ever afford his booze…poor lil fella.
Ok but, this was not something that happened during a Challenge. He’s technically an ‘independent contractor” much like the girls on TM. MTV and BMP do not owe him anything for an accident HE caused while under the influence in his free time.
To expect MTV or BMP to pay him is so out of touch, and then to follow up by saying “are you going to give me a job?” what?! there are hundreds of thousands of amputees that have full time NON reality TV jobs.
Time to get off the reality TV train and get a real job and adapt your life.
Right, what stops him from being a cashier, just give him a chair.
He could work an office job, Customer service, he could even transition into podcasting about the challenge, or sponcon and motivational speaking and talk about how losing his foot was inspirational, or some crap like that. There are plenty of disabled social media stars who talk about navigating the world with a disability, and how people without disabilities can see ways to make their lives easier.
Is he absolutely serious???
And no, dude, MTV does absolutely not stand behind drunk drivers.
Drug addicts, child abusers/ child neglectors, habitual felons and Amber Portwood.. yes.
Lol. That’s funny.
You forgot that don’t stand behind animal abusers, k1ll a dog, and you done. Well, actually they were fine with it until their advertisers wanted out of the show and then they said they are done *cough* UBT *cough*
Or pornstars *cough* Farrah Abraham *cough* (And out of all of the things Farrah has done, I’m surprised that’s where they drew the line).
What does he expect from them? Pay his legal fees? Does this idiot not realize that this whole thing is his own fault? He could have killed innocent people with his carelessness.
He injured himself by driving drunk and hitting a pole. This isn’t a workers comp claim or an injury on the show.
What does he want a tv production company to do? Pay his bills? I don’t care what job you have, no boss is going to pay you bills when he got into an accident outside of work.
He did something illegal and immoral and they probably don’t want anything to do with him.
I’m sorry he lost his foot, it’s sad. But it was a product of his own making. Go get a job and realize that you can’t compete on a competition show anymore.
Agree 100%. Sadly he was responsible for his own accident and it was outside of work. Why would MTV pay his bills or give him a job? He could have k1lled someone while drunk and lost his foot instead
This guy is a joke. MTV shouldn’t help you because you got drunk and messed up your life. No employer is going to help you when you drive drunk and got hurt. Lucky for him he has a following that has been able to help with his gofund me. He’s so out of touch with reality. He should have been paying for his own insurance. A lot of people don’t have insurance through there jobs so they have to pay out of pocket. Thank god he didn’t hurt anyone.
His gofund that misled people into thinking he was hit by a drunk driver, not that he was the drunk driver that hit a pole.
I wonder how many people would have donated if he was upfront and honest on why he needs the money.
I’m not sure why he would have expected either company to help him. He was not an employee. Furthermore his accident was not at or during work but the result of a selfish decision to drink and drive.