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After his dramatic exit from Season 4 of The Traitors, Yam Yam Arocho remains adamant that future banquet victims should go down fighting. His untimely end came at the hands of Lisa Rinna, a former cast member of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. This twist unfolded during a pivotal episode of the competition series, hosted by Alan Cumming, on Peacock.
**Warning: Spoilers for Season 4, Episode 7 of The Traitors ahead**
During what Cumming ominously calls the “black banquet,” Lisa Rinna executed her strategy to eliminate Yam Yam. She cleverly persuaded an unsuspecting Faithful to touch her blood-red amulet by asking Yam Yam himself to help her adjust it. As he was escorted away from the scene, Yam Yam made a point of calling out Lisa’s name, a move that sparked debate among fans regarding its fairness. However, Yam Yam dismisses these concerns with a confident “pish posh.”
In a post-show interview with DECIDER, Yam Yam explained, “The danger for the Traitors is precisely that the victim might call them out. They need to be more careful. If you’re a Traitor, do your job and avoid detection.” He continued, “Everyone should voice their thoughts—that’s the essence of a murder in the game. It’s not like they’re actually beheading you at the table; you’re being taken away. It’s all part of the game’s dynamics.”
Yam Yam adds, “Everybody has to say what they think because that’s the whole point of a murder. I mean, you’re not like cutting my head off at the table, you’re pulling me away. So I think it’s just part of the game.”
As for why he thinks Lisa targeted him, who he’s now rooting for in the game, and who he wants from the Survivor world to play next, keep reading for DECIDER’s full interview.
DECIDER: You were absolutely killing it, until you got killed. I’m so sorry. With all of the other gamers gone, I was really rooting for you.
YAM YAM AROCHO: I felt the same way. I was like, at that point, if we haven’t been murdered, they’re not going to murder me. I mean, they need Natalie for the challenges. They need me as a distraction. I think if it were going to be like a joint decision, of all the Traitors working together, I wouldn’t be murdered, but the fact that it was only decided by Lisa was my downfall.
Well, why do you think Lisa targeted you? She could have taken out anybody.
Lisa and I became really close. I was trying to look to have fun with someone, and I feel like Lisa gave me that Carolyn Wiger energy that I played when I was on Survivor, being out there, being crazy, being authentic, and we were having a lot of fun. You know, we were always talking, you know, Lisa, talk about spanking. Rob. I was the one that gave Lisa the little walking stick so she could spank him. We were having a blast, so I feel like she came to me because I would be unsuspecting of her trying to do something, but I didn’t know.
Your alarm bells went off, but for the wrong thing. And I love that you were shouting at the end. Were there ever any red flags for you with the amulet?
Never. I mean, I would not have touched that if I knew there was something going on. I had no idea. The way that we went to the banquet, it was understood, obviously, from a game point of view, that something was going to happen. But the way everything was set up, it was more like a celebration of getting halfway. So at the beginning of it, the fact that I was seeing everybody’s outfits for the first time, that’s my thing. You know, I like pretty things, so I think my guard was down. Obviously, my guard was down.
Let’s be honest. Are you ever going to be able to look at a brooch again the same way?
Never. Never. I have brooches, I don’t know why I didn’t wear one today, but I would never. My husband loves vintage markets and stuff, and I’ve been, for months, on the lookout for a brooch that looks just like that one. But I haven’t seen one.
I want to ask about the antidote that came out that surprised even the Traitors. And it resulted in a huge kerfuffle with some of the other players. Why were you willing to let others take it before yourself?
If you know anything about me in the game, I love a shield, I love protection. I was always very outspoken about it. By that point in the game, after Ron’s [Funches] banishment, I had so much hate on me from the other Faithfuls that I was trying to change the way I was playing to gain some trust, right? And especially that pack that wasn’t working with me, that was led by Kristen [Kish] and Johnny [Weir], I was trying for them to believe that I was one of them… I was the one who prompted Johnny, grabbed it, give it to Kristin. Because everybody was like, waiting. I just was like, “Somebody stand up and take it.” And then Natalie ran to take it. And I felt like I needed to protect Natalie because she was also outspoken.
There’s a lot of talk today, too, about you shouting out Lisa’s name on the way out, which I loved. Some people think that if they do this again in future seasons, maybe you shouldn’t get your word in edgewise. Do you think that if they do this again in another season, they should just have to leave without getting to say their piece?
Everybody has to say what they think because that’s the whole point of a murder. I mean, you’re not like cutting my head off at the table, you’re like pulling me away. So I think it’s just part of the game… The element of it being so dangerous for the Traitors should be the fact that the person is going to start screaming things. So they need to be more cautious because if you are a Traitor, do your job, don’t get caught.
The Traitors have so much of an upper hand, I don’t get the argument against this one advantage the Faithfuls have.
I don’t know who’s saying that, I saw some videos on reels, people are attacking me this morning, I’m like, “You’re just saying that maybe because I’m not your favorite.” you know. But had it been somebody they [loved], they’d be like, “Oh, my God, we’re so proud of the person that screamed the name.” But I’m not about that life. I was very authentic. I was very myself… I’m not a Hollywood star. I come from Puerto Rico. I’m 100% authentic. What you saw on Survivor is what you see on Traitors, what you see in the street, what you see in the house, what you see in the bar is always the same, and some people are not used to it.
Obviously, you had a strong feeling about Lisa. What was your reaction to finding out about Candiace [Dillard Bassett] and Rob [Rausch]?
I couldn’t believe Rob was a Traitor. I had a list of people I trusted, and obviously, I was number one because it was my list, and then second was Natalie, and third was Rob. And I could not believe Rob was there. As soon as I found out, I was so mad at the Faithfuls. By the end, I was not in with the other Faithfuls. So I was so happy to find out he was a Traitor and I was like, “I hope Rob wins.”
Who from Survivor would you like to see play the Traitors next?
I think Richard Hatch needs to be there. He is the creator of alliances, the creator of strategy. I mean, Survivor being the first, like super famous competitive reality TV show, he is the granddaddy of reality TV. He’s so intelligent, he’s so fearless. And I also feel like Abi-Maria [Gomes]. It’s so messy, she’s so fiery. I think it would bring a lot of really cool energy to it.
We’ve got Survivor 50 coming up. Is there someone that you’re pulling for? Also, people are mad to see you aren’t there. Why aren’t we seeing you?
I did not get invited up. I mean, it was filmed at the same time as Traitors, but I was mad and that made me cry. I’m okay with it, though… maybe I’m not okay with it, I wanted to play. They should have cast 25 people and I should be there. I think Carolyn [Wiger] should have been there, too. I was really surprised — I was more surprised that Carolyn wasn’t on 50 than me. I was really, like, shocked. But in terms of who I’m rooting for, I mean, like anybody from the new era, I think it’s really hard for a winner to win, but Dee Vallardes is obviously my girl and I’m a huge fan of Cirie [Fields]. Even before I went on Survivor, I said, “I want to play like Siri, I want to be strategic. I want to be an underdog. I want to be social. I want to be in control of the information. I want to be in control of the decisions. But the only thing I want to do differently than Cirie is to win.” And I did.
The first seven episodes of The Traitors Season 4 are now streaming on Peacock. New episodes release on Thursdays.
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