Squid Game: The Challenge player confirms “condoms as chapstick” rumor

Daisy Phillipson
Players in Squid Game: The Challenge

A player from Squid Game: The Challenge has set the record straight on arguably the most bonkers rumor to have surfaced from the show: contestants were using condoms as chapstick. 

Squid Game: The Challenge has been a hit for Netflix so far. As the real-life counterpart to the South Korean thriller series, some clear protagonists and antagonists have emerged, with contestants such as 065 and 278 causing quite the stir for how they chose to play the games. 

Behind-the-scenes, there’s been just as much, if not more drama, as a number of players have slammed the set conditions on Red Light, Green Light. But perhaps the most eyebrow-raising claim is that players resorted to using condom lube as chapstick

Is this true, or just an outrageous line out of the Squid Game: The Challenge rumor-mill? Dexerto caught up with Player 277, Sabrina Sabir, to find out. 

Squid Game: The Challenge player confirms “condoms as chapstick” rumor

When asked about the “condoms as chapstick” rumor, Sabrina told us, “This is not made up at all,” before making a good point: “I’m surprised they didn’t show it.”

Perhaps due to the bitter weather – filming went down in January in the UK – many of the contestants suffered from chapped lips. But as was previously suggested, producers didn’t include chapstick in the toiletries packages, and so some players resorted to explicit measures. 

“We were all having our lips chapped and some people’s lips were bleeding,” Sabrina continued. “Let me say, I didn’t use it. I almost got to that point, though. But people were using the condoms for that.”

Player 277, Sabrina, in Squid Game: The Challenge
Player 277, Sabrina, confirmed that the rumor is true

More specifically, they were using the lubricant on the condoms to keep their lips hydrated. Eventually, producers realized what was going on and rectified the situation. 

“I think my last day was when they snuck chapstick into everyone’s fanny pack. So it’s true. It’s absolutely true. Maybe, if they ever do a Season 2, they need to give people chapstick instead of condoms.”

To read more about Sabrina’s journey on Squid Game: The Challenge, and how she ended up going “missing” from the contestant line-up, head here

Squid Game: The Challenge Episodes 1-9 are available to stream on Netflix now. You can check out our other coverage below:

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About The Author

Daisy is a Senior TV and Movies Writer at Dexerto. She's a lover of all things macabre, whether that be horror, crime, psychological thrillers or all of the above. After graduating with a Masters in Magazine Journalism, she's gone on to write for Digital Spy, LADbible and Little White Lies. You can contact her on daisy.phillipson@dexerto.com