While viewers found LeSean McCoy‘s exit from Special Forces entertaining, some of the Directing Staff weren’t happy with the NFL player’s sudden departure.
Instructor Jovon “Q” Quarles told Page Six McCoy’s decision to step away made him lose “so much respect” for the athlete. “He straight pissed me off,” Quarles admitted. “For you to come out here for less than 24 hours and quit when nothing happened to you, nothing was wrong with you, everything was good to go and you were so jovial about it?”
During the Thursday, October 1, episode of the hit Fox series, McCoy, 38, asked to leave after realizing he would have to poop outdoors. This came as a surprise to the DS, who usually doesn’t see recruits leave unless it is a medical withdrawal.
“I feel like you stole from us,” Quarles added. “You stole money from us. I was livid.”
Special Forces puts a group of celebrities through a rigorous competition created by real-life former military operatives. The recruits receive the same amount of pay no matter how long they remain on the show, which is why Quarles questioned McCoy’s lack of commitment to the long haul.
“When you come on the show, make some effort, give us something, show us something or don’t come out,” he continued. “We don’t need you. There are other people who want to get out there and challenge themselves.”
Quarles said McCoy leaving two days into the experience was the “first time” a recruit quit without a valid reason.
“When someone does something that stupid or that selfish, I’m like, ‘Oh, get out of here. Done,’” Quarles continued. “I haven’t talked to him since the show. I think he’s the only one I haven’t spoken to since filming and I’m cool with that.”
McCoy, meanwhile, defended his decision in an interview with Us.
“Obviously the missions and tasks were hard, but it’s the stuff you’re not prepared for,” he shared. “I saw that stuff in zoos and on TV — I never saw those types of animals or creatures in person. That was scary.”
McCoy recalled struggling with the conditions. “We’re out here with little stuff like this. But in real life, I saw a big mosquito, just as big as this, and they were doing a lot of biting. When I woke up the next morning, I had so many bites on my back,” he said about the challenges. “On my first day there, we got into the jungle and the bathroom was outside. Now that was hard. Like, whoa, we gonna use the bathroom outside? So in my head, I said, ‘I gotta hold this thing in for as long as I’m here.’ That’s what I’m thinking.”
He continued: “When I looked into the bathroom, it really was just like a hole, some wood, a circle and a bucket. That’s it. And there was a big snake in there. I’m like, ‘Oh, hell no.’ So I said, ‘I’m not using the bathroom.’ They got snakes. I saw a king cobra.”
Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test season 5 airs on Fox Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.
