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After his hurried departure from the castle—though not nearly quick enough for the other contestants in Season 4 of The Traitors—Michael Rapaport didn’t exactly receive a heartwarming farewell. A glimpse into the current season reveals that the actor and comedian arguably should not have been part of the show from the outset.
Before his elimination during Episode 5’s roundtable, titled “If You’re Gonna Come For Me, I’ll Finish You,” Rapaport, who boasts about being an outspoken New Yorker, began naming other potential Traitors, criticized the intelligence of his fellow participants, and directed a comment toward Colton Underwood, the former Bachelor star. Many perceived his remark as a homophobic dog whistle, sparking controversy both at the table and among viewers.
As Underwood spearheaded efforts to oust Rapaport, the actor redirected the focus onto Underwood, remarking, “Nobody in this room would be better at holding a secret than you.” Instantly, this was perceived by both the audience and many players as referencing Underwood’s past of concealing his sexuality, prompting backlash as Rapaport attempted to retract his statement and clarify his intentions.
Though just a segment of the episode, it culminated in Rapaport’s fellow Faithfuls expressing their exhaustion with his outbursts and dramatics. Many urged him to “stop talking,” indicating their indifference to whether he was a Faithful or a Traitor—they simply wanted him out.
“If you are a Faithful, you are the most distracting Faithful for the Faithfuls. 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,” Eric Nam noted.
To take it one step further, DECIDER spoke with murdered Faithful and Survivor alum Rob Cesternino after his elimination, and he shared similar sentiments to Nam, predicting Rapaport’s exit would be “addition by subtraction” as the pursuit of Traitors is not moving forward because of his chaos.
“I think that the Faithful really need to get Michael Rapaport out of the equation, because I think that Michael Rapaport — even though I tried to tell anybody who would listen — is not a Traitor. I think that there would be addition by subtraction to taking him out of the mix, because you can’t have a productive conversation with Michael in the room,” Cesternino said.
This is a long wind-up for the point being that anyone with two brain cells could have predicted this ending. One quick glance at social media in the days after the casting news was revealed and the months leading up to the new season’s release proved that people were not happy about the Atypical actor snaking his way into Alan Cumming’s game. The simple truth is, he should never been in the conversation in the first place.
Let’s leave aside some of what Rapaport, a Zionist who has loudly made his thoughts on the events that have unfolded in Gaza over the past two years well-known, has said about New York’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, and some of his other flagrantly erratic and offensive language — including saying at one point that if the hostages taken by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attack in Israel “were Black, no one would be demanding a ceasefire” — and just focus on reasons that should have barred him from the series out right.
Back in 1997, Rapaport was arrested for harassing his then-girlfriend, Six Feet Under‘s Lili Taylor, calling her repeatedly and showing up at her house at 1 a.m., banging on her window. He later pled guilty to aggravated harassment in a New York courtroom and was ordered to attend counseling by a judge. Taylor was also granted an order of protection from the actor.
Let’s be clear, that alone is enough to make me say he shouldn’t have gotten a call from Peacock, point blank. Just to be fair, one could say that there’s also an argument for why Underwood should never have been cast, as well, given that The Bachelor lead was accused of tracking his ex-girlfriend and the winner of his season, Cassie Randolph, which led to her requesting a restraining order. The request was later dropped as the two “were able to reach a private settlement,” outlets reported at the time.
That aside, Rapaport’s banishment is not an indictment of big characters as some will ostensibly walk away from this season claiming. I can already hear the cries in the street and on social media, asking if the show is not allowed to take big swings and make a few mistakes. That’s not the takeaway here, and if that’s what you think it is, you’re just wrong.
Even pushing past Rapaport’s controversies, he should not have been cast because there are red flags all over the place. Any award show from the last 20-plus years will tell you that it’s a gamble to have a comedian take center stage, even when they’re on a script. While we love to love them and laugh at their jokes, it’s common for them to go places that make others uncomfortable for the purpose of a laugh. It’s not inadvisable per se, but it is often cheap.
All of this to say that when a joke doesn’t land or is at the expense of others and is served up by someone who has a prologue of controversies, it’s a giant red “X” on that player. Otherwise, you just end up with some guy who likes to speak up and viewers who want to tune out.
The first five episodes of The Traitors Season 4 are now streaming on Peacock. New episodes release Thursdays at 6 p.m. PST.
Peacock currently offers two subscription types: Premium with ads and Premium Plus ad-free. Peacock Premium costs $10.99/month, while Premium Plus costs $16.99/month.
You can save a bit by subscribing to one of Peacock’s annual plans, which give you 12 months for the price of 10. These cost either $109.99 with ads or $169.99 without ads.
Peacock Premium Plus is also available to subscribe to via Prime Video with a seven-day free trial that you can’t get by subscribing directly on Peacock.
