Michael Rapaport received major backlash after bringing up Colton Underwood’s struggles with his sexuality on The Traitors.
During the Thursday, January 15, episode of the hit Peacock series, Colton, 33, originally brought up his personal life while discussing his time on The Bachelor.
“I have already cried too much on TV, I can’t do it anymore,” he recalled. “I was a hot mess.”
Dorinda had some follow-up questions for Colton, asking, “You went on The Bachelor and you were gay? I didn’t know that you went as a heterosexual on a major show. God, I missed the window.”
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Colton, meanwhile, joked that Dorinda “dodged a bullet” by missing out on that chapter in his life.
“Welcome to the party, Dorinda,” he quipped. “At that time, I was convinced I was a heterosexual.”
The former professional football player’s love life was brought up again later in the episode. After Michael, 55, caught wind of Colton suggesting that he might be a Traitor, the actor tried to turn the tables.
“This man is responsible for chirping in everybody’s ear. And this man — after the challenge today — was openly in my face questioning me and then when I walked away, he said my name out loud to a group of people,” Michael claimed. “[He was] holding court and this man should be keeping his mouth shut. Because last night, this man organized and colluded to get rid of a good Faithful.”
Michael made it clear that he was “angry, pissed off and isolated,” which he blamed on Colton, adding, “Nobody in this room would be better at holding a secret than you.” The comment quickly shifted the energy in the room as Colton fired back.
“You think it was fun for 29 years of my life?” he asked Michael, who denied that his comment had anything to do with Colton coming out as gay later in life, clarifying, “That has nothing to do with it. I think you came into this game loving the idea of being a Traitor.”
The damage was done though and most of the roundtable subsequently turned their backs on Michael. After some people discussed writing Colton’s name down as a Traitor, most of them shifted to Michael because of his comments.
“You can’t blame someone for being forced into a closet for the majority of their lives,” Johnny Weir stated. “That is what we took it as.”
Candiace Dillard Bassett, meanwhile, told Michael that he should “clarify” what he meant if he wasn’t mocking Colton for being “in the closet” in the past.
“His behavior is of a Traitor. His behavior is secretive. It’s conniving, it’s chirping, it’s commiserating. It’s cowardly,” Michael fired back before being told again that he was “wrong” even if his words were taken differently than he “intended.”
Michael continued: “Take it however you want. This is a Traitor. You’re a Traitor — a commiserating and colluding Traitor.”
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At that point, Rob Rausch stepped in to correct Michael’s use of the word commiseration. Then Alan Cumming told everyone to cast their votes and Michael won by a majority. While some people cast their votes, they made it clear that it had more to do with Michael’s behavior and them not wanting him to remain in the castle regardless of whether he is a Traitor or a Faithful.
“You’ve been pretty lucky to get this far,” Colton told Michael before he left. Others backed up Colton — including Natalie Anderson, who said, “For me, there are some things that it doesn’t even matter. You’ve been on my list from day 1 and I’ve been super honest with you about why. But today — the way you spoke to Colton — for me, it’s enough to write your name.”
Eric Nam also jumped in to share his thoughts.
“If you’re a Faithful, you are the most distracting Faithful. If you’re a Traitor, you are playing a great game because you are so good at throwing things out there and having us just yell at each other and wasting valuable, precious time,” he noted.
Before his banishment, Michael took to social media to defend his approach.
“I’m pumped to watch it. I’m such a fan of the show,” he said via an Instagram video earlier this month. “Usually, my wife and I sit down in front of the TV for the premiere. We watch it with some pasta and then some ice cream. I don’t know what we’re going to do now that I’m on it.”
The Traitors is streaming now on Peacock with new episodes dropping Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.
