Special Forces: World's Toughest Test proved it was just as brutal as advertised on its premiere night, during which viewers witnessed four celebrities leave the competition over the course of two hours. It was a daunting experience that pushed several contestants to their breaking points, including Dr. Drew Pinsky and, after the fact, the TV personality revealed that he cried in the middle of it all.
Dr. Drew Pinsky was medically withdrawn from Special Forces: World's Toughest Test due to heat exhaustion, but his tears weren't shed due to the situation he was going through. Pinsky told CinemaBlend about what viewers didn't see during the episode and why he couldn't help but cry when he heard his fellow celebrities going through a punishment without him:
I was there for like four hours. I was trying to hydrate orally, [but] I just couldn't get ahead. The group had to go out, and they were getting that punishment, you know that when they were ‘paying the man’ when they were in the water and the mud and the tube, I heard that going on, and I started crying. I thought I just needed to be with my peers. I heard them suffering, and I needed to be with them. One of the things we all found that was so odd, but extraordinary, was how fast this group was bonded up… We were bonded by being traumatized and being in this experience together. And we got through because of one another, and we just wanted to be with each other in this experience.
It's incredible to think that in as rough a shape as Dr. Drew Pinsky was, he couldn't help but feel sad that he wasn't out there running and crawling through the obstacle course with his squad. As the the former Masked Singer contestant revealed, he formed quick and strong bonds with his comrades due to what they were going through. This may be best illustrated by a previous story Pinsky shared elsewhere. Per his account, singer Mel B confessed that she was traumatized by seeing so many white penises while filming.
Special Forces: World's Toughest Test showed the doctor suffering significantly from heat exhaustion, but the series didn't really shed light on how he wound up in that situation. The veteran HLN show host explained how he got so dehydrated, and perhaps not surprisingly, it was tied to his desire to not have his squad suffer:
They would punish us if we weren't topped off with our fluids. And my fluids were never topped off because I was drinking water all the time. And so I wouldn't admit it when I needed more water. I didn't want the group to get punished. So I think I kinda got behind that way, but I didn't have any idea how far behind I was [on fluids]. It was actually, once I got to the hospital, it [took] five liters of IV fluid before I could stand up. It was pretty crazy.
Dr. Drew Pinsky was removed from Special Forces: World's Toughest Test but, as previously mentioned, he wasn't the only person to fall. Reality television star Kate Gosselin was medically withdrawn after suffering a neck injury as was "This Is How We Do It" singer and pastor Montell Jordan, who allegedly broke his thumb. Celebrity chef Tyler Florence also bowed out during the premiere, voluntarily leaving the competition after seeing the rope challenge.
So if you're wondering if the show is worth catching up on using a Hulu subscription, that depends on your stance on watching celebrities survive in the harshest of environments and circumstances. It's certainly been an entertaining start, and I'm curious whether any celebrities will make it to the end following that brutal beginning. Even some of the more athletic celebrities like NBA's Dwight Howard or the NFL's Danny Amendola appear to be struggling a bit, so I am curious if they'll succeed or end up leaving and shedding tears like Dr. Drew Pinsky.
Special Forces: World's Toughest Test airs on Fox on Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET. It's one of many new shows featured on the 2023 TV schedule, so be sure to give that a look and plan for the coming weeks of fresh content as the new year gets underway.
