‘The Traitors’: Michael Rapaport Claims Controversial Remark to Colton Underwood About Keeping a Secret Had ‘Nothing to Do With His Sexuality’

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers from “If You’re Gonna Come for Me, I’ll Finish You,” the fifth episode of “The Traitors” Season 4, now streaming on Peacock.

Michael Rapaport is under fire for his latest comments on “The Traitors.” During the fifth episode of Season 4, which was released on Thursday night, the actor called out Colton Underwood during the roundtable.

Earlier in the day, Underwood and Rapaport got into a yelling match as the former Bachelor claimed his opponent was a Traitor and tried to convince the rest of the cast that was the case. However, since Underwood had previously led the troops incorrectly when targeting “Big Brother” star Tiffany Mitchell, Rapaport claimed that in fact he was the traitor, trying to throw everyone off. Once at the roundtable, the argument boiled over.

“I am angry, I’m pissed off, and I am isolated because of him, and nobody in this room would be better at holding a secret than you,” Rapaport said, to which Underwood responded, “There it is.”

A quick backstory: Underwood appeared on “The Bachelorette” and “The Bachelor,” both showcasing his relationships with women. He spoke often (and wrote in his book) about being straight despite people questioning his sexuality throughout his life. In 2020, Cassie Randolph, who won his season of “The Bachelor,” filed a restraining order against him for stalking and placing a tracker on her car, which he eventually admitted to. The following year, Underwood came out as gay.

“You think it was fun for 29 years of my life?” Underwood asked Rapaport while at the roundtable. Quickly, Rapaport said, “No, no, no, that has nothing to do with this. I think you came into this game loving the idea of being a Traitor.”

Multiple other cast members then chimed in. Olympian Johnny Weir said, “You can’t blame somebody being forced intoa closet for the majority of their life,” to which Rapaport replied, “I’m not talking about closets… His behavior is of a Traitor, his behavior is secret, it’s conniving… It’s cowardly.”

When “Love Island” star Maura Higgins called the remarks “a very low blow,” Rapaport replied, “I don’t think it was, it wasn’t intended to be,” before adding, “I apologize if he took it that way.”

While the point of the rountable is to banish Traitors, many members of the cast took this chance to oust Rapaport — and didn’t care whether he was a Traitor or Faithful. “Today, the way you spoke to Colton, for me, it’s enough to write your name down. So I think we should just get together and vote him out of here,” said “Survivor” star Natalie Anderson.

With that, 11 out of 16 cast members voted to banish him. When revealing his name, Weir added, “I don’t give a shit what you are. I just want you out of my castle.”

After his banishment, Rapaport apologized in his confessional. “It sucks, but I felt backed into a corner, and I tried to fight my way out of it. Maybe I fought too hard. I meant what I meant within the context of the game. It had nothing to do with his sexuality,” he said. “I really sincerely apologize if I offended Colton or anybody in the house. That absolutely wasn’t my intention.”

After the three-episode “Traitors” premiere on Jan. 8, the audience immediately seemed to hate Rapaport as one, and he continually took on fans on X. In response to one tweet making fun of him, he wrote, “They/Them opinions don’t mean sh*t. They Them ain’t even real THEY or THEMS.” He ended up locking his account, going private on X, but has since unlocked it again.

After the Jan. 15 episodes aired, he posted on X, “I played a hard game, I played a real game & I had a fun. Never wanted to offend anyone watching or the cast.” He has continued to tweet through it, arguing with those posting about him; on Friday, he replied to one “Traitors” viewer on X and mocked them for having pronouns in their bio. He also canceled his exit interviews that were scheduled for Friday.