Squid Game: The Challenge isn't just one of the best reality TV shows out right now—some think it's even better than the original Netflix series. (Controversial, we know.) The show has captivated viewers with plenty of drama, surprises and, yes, controversies (contestants claimed that filming the series was "like a warzone") since debuting on the streamer. However, one of its biggest surprises was the reveal that challengers were using condoms during the competition—but not for the reason you think.
Players were so desperate for lip balm in the dormitories that they ended up using lubricated condoms to moisturize their lips during filming. Sure, it might sound ludicrous, but evidently, desperate times call for desperate measures. The untraditional beauty hack was confirmed to EW by Player 301/Trey Plutnicki, who was featured on the show with his mother LeAnn Wilcox Plutnicki. He also added that he personally did not participate in the condom-as-chapstick routine, which he dubbed "so stupid."
I'm going to confirm this: Yeah, that's 100 percent real. Do you think I did that? Do I seem like a person that did that? No, hell no. That's so stupid.
When the Squid Game: The Challenge players arrived in the dorm after making it through the show's most iconic challenge, "Red Light, Green Light," they were gifted a bag of toiletries for their own personal use throughout filming. The vanity kits included a toothbrush, toothpaste and hand sanitizer. There were also communal toiletries available in the bathrooms to supplement the rest of the players' hygiene routines. However, one vital product was apparently missing: lip balm.
After days of chapped lips, contestants MacGyvered their own lip moisturizer by unwrapping condoms provided by the production team and using the lubrication from the prophylactics on their lips.
Though Trey wasn't down to lube up his mouth with an ol' Trojan, he did try other toiletry products provided by production as ad hoc lip moisturizer, including body lotion and hair conditioner. He said:
There was lotion, there was conditioner, and those were the first two tries. And after I tried those and they weren't working, I was like, 'Well, that's all of our options, because obviously we're not going to use the condoms.' And within a day, maybe a day and a half, all the condoms were gone. It was absurd. And it still didn't work!
A spin-off of the record-breaking South Korea drama, Squid Game: The Challenge kicked off with 456 players hoping to win a $4.56 million cash prize. However, more than half of the contestants were cut almost immediately during the Red Light, Green Light challenge.
The reality competition series will have ten episodes total, with the big season finale premiering on Wednesday, December 6. If you need to catch up before then, you can check out the show on the 2023 TV schedule with a Netflix subscription. And you can expect more from the O.G. Squid Game as well: here's everything we know about Squid Game Season 2, which is expected to drop some time on the 2024 TV schedule.
