‘Did Johnny Just Call the One Black Girl a Monkey?’: White Contestant on Netflix’s ‘Pop the Balloon Live’ Show Seemingly Refers to Black Woman as an Animal, and Now Fans Are Outraged
The popular YouTube show “Pop The Balloon,” hosted by Arlette Amuli, has officially taken a new twist after airing a live version that has everyone in an uproar.
Viewers say Netflix’s “Pop The Balloon Live” is too far away from the nature of the original show which features mainly Black everyday singles testing their chemistry in a live experiment. Now the streaming platform and the show’s creators are being criticized online after one contestant made controversial remarks about a Black woman on the show.
John Devenanzio, also known as “Johnny Bananas” from season 17 of MTV’s “The Real World,” was the first male contestant to vie for the ladies’ attention in the debut Netflix episode that aired on April 10.
Half of the eight potential daters instantly popped their balloons when “The Challenge” alum stepped on set, signifying they were uninterested in him.
One woman explained that she rejected Bananas because she prefers Black men. This prompted Devenanzio, 42, to respond, “I’m Black from the waist up,” which sparked a blend of laughs and dramatic eye-rolls from the women on stage.
Eventually, all the ladies popped their balloons for different reasons but Devenanzio’s repeated jokes about the daters as well as insults about their careers, caused more negative reactions when he clashed with a 35-year-old woman named Sheila from Baltimore.
“I popped my balloon because I like my men Black from the waist down,” Sheila told comedian and host Yvonne Orji hitting back at Devenanzio.
Devenanzio was later asked to name who on the stage would have been his type of woman to date. The veteran reality star started giving his opinion on the women’s toes.
When he looked down at Sheila’s feet, he said, “You look like you sleep from a tree upside down.”
“Oh you don’t want this smoke with me, honey,” she replied.
Orji quickly then ushered Devenanzio off the set, saying, “Thank you for your service. I’m going to send you to the back.”
In addition to facing complete rejection and an unceremonious exit on the show, people on the internet took offense to his antics on “Pop The Balloon Live.”
“Ten minutes in and Johnny Bananas already called a Black woman a monkey,” one person posted on X.
Another user wondered, “Did Johnny just call the one black girl a monkey?” raising more questions about Johnny being on the show.
Suggesting he was referring to another animal, one person said, “Monkeys don’t sleep in trees, hanging upside down y’all.”
Still many were offended by his remarks further asking why he was part of the show in the first place. “Why are they doing this show with reality stars?? I thought it was gonna be unknown people,” wrote another confused individual.
Another Devenanzio critic tweeted, “And just like clockwork, another racist comment by the one and only Johnny Bananas.”
Earlier this year, Devenanzio was accused of sending a now-deleted tweet to Taylor Hale, the first Black woman to win the “Big Brother” reality television competition series in 2022.
“That yellow fruit man pinned a tweet to his profile at 8 AM saying he was looking for engagement, and by 3 PM you all gave him exactly what he asked for?” Hale tweeted on February 3.
The George Washington University graduate continued, “I don’t want to hear a single word if he somehow pops up on every show in the conversation.” Hale was apparently responding to Johnny comparing shows like “The Challenge” and “Big Brother.”
Devenanzio’s X account replied to Hale with six banana emojis and a gorilla emoji, which set off a torrent of backlash as X users slammed him for seemingly boosting an anti-Black monkey stereotype.
That yellow fruit man pinned a tweet to his profile at 8AM saying he was looking for engagement, and by 3PM you all gave him exactly what he asked for?
I don’t want to hear a single word if he somehow pops up on every show in the conversation
— Taylor Hale (@TheTayMack) February 3, 2025
Following the fallout from the banana and gorilla tweet, Devenanzio shifted blame to the Step Up Social content creation agency, claiming they took control of his account to promote a meme coin.
“I went back and forth with this company for a few days, putting tweets together that I approved being posted from my social media accounts. What I did not approve was them to go rogue and start responding to others,” Devenanzio told Variety.
“Basically, they made the ill-advised move to tweet one of these emojis at Taylor. So, immediate action was taken,” he stated.
Devenanzio insisted the guerrilla emoji symbolizes “strength” and “going in full force” among cryptocurrency enthusiasts and was not meant to be seen as a jab against a Black woman.
Hale informed the outlet that he reached out to her privately on Feb. 5, noting, “I assured him I did not believe the intent of the tweet to be racist.”
Hale did receive an apology from Step Up Social via email over the “actual racist messages from individuals that claim to be his fans.” Devenanzio is said to be “strongly considering legal action” against the company.
Netflix’s “Pop The Balloon Live” has left a bad taste in the mouths of viewers who suggest Amuli and her husband, Bolia Matundu abandoned the corporate-backed adaptation of the popular series that gained Amuli over 1.02 million YouTube followers.
“Started to watch and I [popped] my [balloon]! This ain’t it,” one critic commented on the Spiritual World Instagram page. Another person joked, “I’m 10 mins in and I am immediately disappointed. This show is extremely white washed. @yvonneorji can only do so much… she’s the best part of the show… other than that, this is not it all. And why is it Live… OMG!! I just need someone to let me produce a show.”
Likewise, a third Instagram user expressed, “Netflix definitely ruined this show. It was far better on YouTube, and that’s where it should’ve [stayed] if they weren’t going to do it correctly.”