Colton Underwood Reveals Where He Stands With Michael Rapaport

Colton Underwood is keen to maneuver ahead with Michael Rapaport after a deeply private feud with the actor through the latest season of “The Traitors.” The latest episode of the thrilling competitors sequence generated a powerful response from viewers who slammed Rapaport for making a “homophobic” assertion through the present’s intense roundtable section. Throughout a latest interview, nevertheless, Underwood implied that he was keen to bury the hatchet with Rapaport as soon as and for all.

Talking with Entertainment Weekly, Underwood opened up about how difficult the coming-out course of could be for LGBTQ+ people. “I am nonetheless engaged on methods to course of it, and I feel you positively see that come up and hit me,” he mentioned. “The explanation I mentioned sure to doing a present like The Traitors is it is not private.”

For individuals who may’ve missed it, Rapaport surprised his “Traitors” co-stars when he appeared to take a private dig at Underwood on the finish of episode 5, saying “no person on this room can be higher at holding a secret than you.” Many interpreted Rapaport’s feedback as a reference to the fact star’s choice to publicly come out as homosexual in April 2021.

“The drama and the depth of the present is all the time so game-focused, so I feel 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 feel you felt that and noticed it within the episode,” Underwood mentioned.

In the course of the episode, lots of Underwood’s co-stars, together with Jonny Weir and Candiace Dillard Bassett, rushed to his protection. And whereas Rapaport insisted his assertion had nothing to do together with his sexuality, Underwood actually felt the other.

“I may simply inform you how I took it, and I did take it that it was not in a gaming approach and it was extra of a private dig at my previous and what I went via and the way I dealt with myself,” he mentioned. “I might be the primary particular person to say I am positively not good, and I positively made a whole lot of errors. However at this level in my life, it was 5 or 6 years in the past once I first began the coming-out course of, and I am in simply such a distinct section of life with my household and professionally.”

Underwood shared that he wasn’t holding a “grudge” in opposition to Rapaport, noting that the latter had reached out to apologize for his phrases. “… however I do assume it is vital for me in my life at this level to start out standing up for myself. I can solely be a punching bag for thus lengthy. Even at this time, seeing some folks’s [and] followers of the present’s feedback in the direction of me, I can solely sit quiet for thus lengthy,” he added.

Rapaport’s feedback did not sit effectively with some followers of the present, who instantly rushed to social media to slam the “True Romance” actor over his “homophobic” feedback.

“F**okay Michael Rapaport,” somebody wrote. “He is been identified to be a bigot for a very long time. Colton’s no angel, and has a shady historical past too, however the sexuality remark was triggering for me. Jogged my memory of these males who’re bullies and may’t stand when homosexual males name them out.”

One other consumer accused Rapaport of “dog-whistling the homophobia,” whereas a 3rd argued that Rapaport ought to’ve been instantly faraway from the sport for his seemingly insensitive feedback.

In the meantime, different customers questioned whether or not Rapaport meant his assertion the way in which some forged members and different viewers had been deciphering it.

“Huge Brother” alum Tommy Bracco wrote, “If that is all that was mentioned by Michael on this second, I am confused why everybody freaked out on him. He is proper.”