How a Fiery Feud on <I>The Traitors</I> Season 4 Reignited Scrutiny Surrounding a Cast Member’s Problematic Past
Warning: This post contains spoilers for Episode 7 of The Traitors Season 4.
“You want to see a Housewife? I’ll come out.”
That was the warning former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Rinna issued to The Bachelor alum Colton Underwood after he (rightfully) accused her of being a Traitor in Episode 6 of the ongoing fourth season of the U.S. version of The Traitors. Underwood’s Round Table assertion was based, in his own words, on the claim that Rinna had been playing the game “very quietly and very sheepishly” instead of the way the bold and brash reality TV persona he had expected to encounter at the castle would have.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]Underwood has been one of the most vocal Faithfuls this season and has led the charge on a number of misguided Faithful banishments, giving Rinna some room to maneuver out from under his argument. At that particular Round Table, the comedian Ron Funches, a Faithful, ended up receiving the most votes, leaving the battle between Rinna and Underwood to continue.
And before the following episode aired on Thursday, Rinna took the feud to social media with a comment that reignited scrutiny surrounding Underwood’s problematic past. On Jan. 23, the day after Episode 6 became available to stream on Peacock, Rinna shared a comment in response to a Threads post praising her reputation for blunt callouts on Housewives. Alongside a picture of Rinna in a legendary scene from RHOBH , the post read, “THIS is who Colton thinks he’s slick up against? GOOD LUCK BUDDY!”
“Let’s talk about you being a stalker….” Rinna wrote in reply, invoking one of her other classic Housewives quips in a dig at Underwood. Rinna’s comment was a reference to a temporary restraining order brought against Underwood in September 2020 by Cassie Randolph, the woman he chose to date at the end of his 2019 season of The Bachelor. Randolph, who alleged Underwood had stalked her, sent her harassing text messages, and planted a tracking device on her car, was granted the order a little over three months after they had announced their break-up.
Randolph later dropped the order in November 2020 after she and Underwood reached a private agreement. “I do not believe Cassie did anything wrong in filing for the restraining orders and also believe she acted in good faith,” Underwood said in a statement at the time. “I appreciate everyone’s respect for privacy regarding this matter.”
A few months later, in April 2021, Underwood came out as gay during an appearance on Good Morning America. During that interview, he apologized to Randolph, stating that he had “messed up” and “made a lot of bad choices.”
“I would just say I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart. I’m sorry for the pain and emotional stress I caused,” he said. “I wish it wouldn’t have happened the way it did. I wish that I would have been courageous enough to fix myself before I broke anybody else.”
Underwood’s announcement that he was gay coincided with news that he was filming a Netflix reality show about his new life, prompting criticisms that he used his coming-out story to rehabilitate his image following the allegations. He has since gone on to marry and have a child with political strategist Jordan C. Brown, launch a podcast about fatherhood, and further his career in reality television.
However, the controversy surrounding Underwood is now generating renewed backlash, with some critics questioning why he continues to receive a “good guy edit” on major TV shows. In a TikTok posted on Jan. 12, Demi Burnett, a contestant from Underwood’s season of The Bachelor who later came out as bisexual on a season of Bachelor in Paradise, stated it “blows [her] mind” that Underwood is allowed to star on series like The Traitors.
“Everyone who’s saying, ‘He made a mistake,’ like, what? That is not a mistake. He thought about this, and he still decided to go through with it multiple times. He thought about all of this. He premeditated all of this. This is all really, really, scary types of thinking patterns, people,” she said “All this comes out, right? And what does he do? He says, ‘I’m gay,’ and everybody, they are so shocked by that, that they forget about all of that psychotic behavior that I just listed. And the craziest part is that was all part of his plan. He did this on purpose. He came out right at this time on purpose. So people would not pay attention to what we had all just discovered, which is that he is a stalker. He is dangerous to women.”
Following her initial shady commentary, Rinna posted a follow-up video to her Instagram story on Jan. 24 walking back her initial approach to their in-game spat and coming to Underwood’s defense. “It’s come to my attention that my post that I responded to in my Housewife mode is taking on a life of its own and it’s causing real problems for Colton,” she said. “And I do not want this because Colton and I are great. He was a great and is a great nemesis for me on the show in the game. Now, as you know, if you ask me to be a Housewife, I’ll bring it to you, right? That’s what I was doing. All in the name of the game.”
She added that she and had been exchanging texts with Underwood. “The fact that the backlash is happening, I feel horrible about because I don’t want to hurt anybody. I am here to play the game and have fun. And Colton is a great nemesis for me. We had so much fun. I’ve only always had a great time with him,” she continued. “So please, guys, be gentle. It’s a game. It’s a TV show. We’re all doing the best we can. Don’t send death threats or do anything to jeopardize somebody’s family. We had so much fun doing it. It was really hard.”
That same day, when Peacock released a statement decrying “cyberbullying and harassment” and reminding fans to be kind to cast members, it was widely perceived to be in response to the controversy surrounding Underwood, though it did not name him directly. “There’s a difference between discussing a show and targeting individuals,” the statement read. “Let’s not ruin the passion for this show with unwarranted negativity and personal attacks.”
Peacock’s framing of the issue quickly came under fire, with social media users flocking to the post to call out the apparent hypocrisy of the streamer condemning harassment after casting Underwood on one of their most-watched original series. “I agree. And a further suggestion,” read one of the top comments. “Maybe you shouldn’t cast people who have/continue to make other people feel unsafe through their words and/or actions.”
“So you care about safety but you put an emotionally abusive stalker on our TV screens,” added another. “What type of message do you think that sends to your viewers? Do better.”
In Episode 7, which became available to stream on Peacock at 9 p.m. ET on Jan. 29, Rinna was ultimately banished from the game. However, Underwood remains in play, leaving the door open for continued discourse surrounding his inclusion on the show. As for how viewers will respond to Underwood’s gameplay going forward, we’d be willing to wager Rinna may have summed it up with some parting words on the subject: “I think Colton thinks he’s untouchable. He’s like a dog with a bone, honey. Colton needs to go.”