Colton Underwood is responding to Michael Rapaport seemingly commenting on his sexuality in the course of the newest episode of The Traitors.
Through the roundtable, Rapaport implied Underwood may very well be a traitor as he hid his sexuality for quite a lot of years. Underwood, who’s homosexual, publicly got here out in April 2021 on the age of 29.
“No person on this room could be higher at holding a secret than you,” Rapaport stated.
“There it’s. You suppose it was enjoyable for 29 years of my life?” Underwood responded, earlier than fellow contestants got here to his protection.
“I’m not speaking about closets! His habits is of a traitor. His habits is secretive, it’s conniving, it’s chirping, it’s commiserating, it’s cowardly,” Rapaport added.
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In an interview with Leisure Weekly revealed on Friday, Jan. 16, the previous Bachelor revealed what his preliminary response was to Rapaport’s feedback.
“The approaching-out course of takes a very long time, and I am nonetheless very a lot in my coming-out course of, so there’s all the time little issues right here and there that form of re-trigger previous feelings,” Underwood stated. “I am nonetheless engaged on tips on how to course of it, and I believe you positively see that come up and hit me. The explanation I stated sure to doing a present like The Traitors is it is not private. The drama and the depth of the present is all the time so game-focused, so I believe that is what simply threw me just a little bit, is when it received private and he was utilizing me as a human being as an alternative of my gameplay in opposition to me. That is what caught me off guard, and I believe you felt that and noticed it within the episode.”
Underwood additionally shared what he thinks Rapaport’s intentions have been going into the roundtable.
“Within the brief time that I received to know Michael, he was self-aware sufficient. He is a quick talker, he is a slick talker, and he stated it in certainly one of his interviews, his mouth will get him in hassle,” he stated. “I grew up round these forms of folks. It’s extremely very similar to a locker-room-style surroundings, and I believe phrases and little digs and issues in direction of the homosexual group get thrown out so much in these sort of environments. I am at a degree in my life the place I am positively not sitting in that emotion. I do not really feel like a sufferer in any respect. I do know he is most likely watching it again simply with just a little little bit of remorse on how he delivered it.”
“I might simply inform you how I took it, and I did take it that it was not in a gaming method and it was extra of a private dig at my previous and what I went by and the way I dealt with myself. I might be the primary particular person to say I am positively not excellent, and I positively made numerous errors,” he added. “However at this level in my life, it was 5 – 6 years in the past after I first began the coming-out course of, and I am in simply such a distinct section of life with my household and professionally. A variety of remedy. The tougher half is simply placing myself again into that headspace of the place I used to be at throughout my lowest.”
Lower than a 12 months earlier than popping out in 2021, Underwood broke up with the winner of his season of The Bachelor, Cassie Randolph. In September of that 12 months, Randolph filed a restraining order in opposition to Underwood, alleging he put a monitoring gadget on her car, loitered outdoors her household’s dwelling, and despatched her threatening textual content messages — together with ones the place he allegedly pretended to be an nameless stalker.
Randolph dropped her restraining order in November 2020 after she and Underwood have been capable of attain a personal settlement.
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Although Rapaport claimed he was not referring to Underwood’s sexual orientation, the group banished him anyway — with a number of contestants admitting they didn’t care if he was a Trustworthy or Traitor, they simply needed him gone.
Following his banishment, the actor supplied an apology, saying, “I meant what I meant inside the context of the sport. It had nothing to do along with his sexuality. I actually, sincerely apologize if I offended Colton or anyone in the home. That completely wasn’t the intention.”
Through the EW interview, Underwood revealed if he accepted Rapaport’s apology or not.
“He apologized in direction of the tip, like, ‘I did not imply it,’ so I’ve to take him for his phrase. I am not holding a grudge in opposition to him, however I do suppose it will be significant for me in my life at this level to begin standing up for myself,” he stated. “I can solely be a punching bag for thus lengthy. Even as we speak, seeing some folks’s [and] followers of the present’s feedback in direction of me, I can solely sit quiet for thus lengthy.”
In an interview with TMZ revealed on Jan. 16, Rapaport stated he spoke to Underwood once more after filming wrapped and claimed they cleared the air.
“I did converse to him proper after filming. We had an amazing man to man dialog and the whole lot was very cool and respectful. I like him and want him and his household one of the best,” Rapaport stated.
Underwood, for his half, shared his perspective on their off-camera dialog.
“Him and I’ve exchanged a dialog that, for proper now, is being saved personal,” he stated. “And clearly we’ll need to see one another once more on the reunion. So there will certainly be so much for us to speak about then. It is a very intense present. These followers are very intense.”
New episodes of The Traitors launch each Thursday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Peacock.
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