‘Amazing Race’ 31 Star Tyler Oakley Talks U-Turns And Surprise Twist

The current season of “The Amazing Race” may be the most competitive yet, and that spirit may be most prevalent when the opportunity to U-Turn another team has been presented. However, after being the surprising target of one such U-Turn earlier this season, competitor Tyler Oakley still doesn’t think he would use the move for himself.

In an interview with International Business Times, Oakley, who has his own YouTube Channel with over 7 million subscribers and previously competed with teammate Korey Kuhl on the CBS show’s 28th season, admitted that he was surprised they were one of two teams forced to complete both Detours in Laos. However, he still doesn’t think it is a wise move for teams to use the strategy against one another unless they can be sure that a pair won’t survive.

“I personally was a little bit flabbergasted by it,” he told IBT. “My personal rule for determining it is you don’t U-Turn somebody unless you are absolutely certain that they are going home. The last thing you want is for that team to survive, and now you’ve got a target on your back because some teams do hold that grudge. Some teams do hold that vendetta. So, if you don’t know that team's going to go home, I don’t know if it’s a smart move to use the U-Turn.”

As it turned out, both he and Korey, who were U-Turned by Team Fun (Becca Droz and Floyd Pearce), and Team Fun themselves, who had been U-Turned by the Reilly sisters in that leg, all survived the attempt to eliminate them from the competition. As of Leg 7, all three of those teams were still competing.

The fact that all three are still racing could up the stakes as the game continues—especially with a U-Turn Vote twist coming up soon. The twist was teased in a glimpse at everything that would happen during the season after the premiere and appeared to show the Reilly sisters expressing anger over how the results turned out.

Oakley couldn’t reveal too many details about the surprise twist, which will be happening for the first time on the show, but admitted that it was unexpected to everyone and could be dramatic.

“I think especially with a cast of people who are a little bit more used to voting against each other, it was something that I... I surely didn’t expect it,” he said. “I didn’t think for one second that it was going to be a part of the race. So we'll see...it is a moment.”

“The Amazing Race” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EDT on CBS.