Being on 'The Traitors' can rehabilitate a celebrity's image. It can also ruin it.
· Business Insider
Euan Cherry/Peacock via Getty Images
- Peacock's "The Traitors" is a hit competition show in which players outwit and deceive each other.
- Season four's breakout star is Rob Rausch from "Love Island," who previously had a mixed reputation.
- The show has become a powerful tool for a celebrity's image rehabilitation, PR pros say.
One might assume that TV personalities appear on Peacock's murder-mystery competition show "The Traitors" for a paycheck and attention. But the savviest among the cast know the show's real prize is something money can't buy: redemption.
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The series, a "Mafia"-esque game in which contestants must guess what "Traitors" are among them, while the Traitors must lie their way to the end of the game, might not seem like the friendliest environment for a celebrity or reality star looking to rehabilitate their image.
But over four seasons, the show has made viral stars and renewed celebrities out of several of its famous cast members, earning a reputation as the best cottage industry for celebrity image rehab this side of "Dancing with the Stars."
Who knew a show about lying and manipulating could make you so beloved?
The making of a 'Traitors' star
"The Traitors" has always had a taste for the devilish ones. Hosted with campy flourish by Alan Cumming and filmed in a 19th-century castle in the Scottish Highlands, the show leans heavily into its calling card as a game of deception. As such, it's attracted all manner of niche celebrities, many of whom come from competition shows like "Survivor," "Big Brother," and MTV's "The Challenge," which require strategy; or social reality shows like Bravo's "Real Housewives," which arguably relies on a fair amount of interpersonal strategizing and lying for sport.
But the breakout star of "The Traitors" season four — which has been viewed for billions of minutes on Peacock since its January premiere, its biggest audience yet — isn't a gamer or a Housewife. It's someone who caught the casting director's attention not by strategizing and scheming, but by coupling up and kissing on cue.
Rob Rausch on season four of "The Traitors."Euan Cherry/Peacock
Rob Rausch emerged from the neon-lit "Love Island" Villa in 2024 with a polarizing reputation. He'd dated and then promptly dumped Leah Kateb, a season six fan favorite, to chase a hot new bombshell who'd caught his eye. (No, really, the newcomers on "Love Island" are called "bombshells.") While Kateb struggled with hurt and confusion about his change of heart, viewers grew suspicious of Rausch's Southern charm and snake tattoos; save for one memorable meltdown, Rausch was mostly inscrutable as the Villa's chaos swirled around him. In a postmortem interview with Alex Cooper, he summarized the feedback he received online: "Basically, I'm a toxic gaslighter, but I'm hot enough that it doesn't matter."
Rausch has said he turned down "The Traitors" multiple times because he didn't want more drama. But from the moment he set foot on Scottish soil to film season four, he shrewdly leveraged his past drama to draw the spotlight.
"I honestly think I'll make a good Traitor. I'm hard to read," Rausch said in the season four premiere. "I've been told that by every girl I've ever dated."
When Rausch was selected for the titular role, he picked off his costars one by one — including his fellow Traitors — with ease while remaining impressively unsuspected. In addition to earning praise for his strategic gameplay and knack for social manipulation, he was shown sticking up for his friends, playfully meowing at the camera, and quoting Mark Twain.
In one of the final episodes, fellow Traitor Eric Nam compared Rob to an eagle soaring above the fray, his feathers unruffled. Fellow cast member and "Real Housewives" star Dorinda Medley even said she was flattered to be targeted by Rausch for elimination. "He can do no wrong in my book," she said. "I'm getting murdered, and I have butterflies."
The viewers at home agreed. The qualities that made Rausch a villain in the "Love Island" Villa were the same ones that led to success and stardom in the "Traitors" castle, where everyone has signed up for a game of paranoia and deception.
"Rob came in carrying a 'Love Island' reputation for manipulation layered over with charm, and 'The Traitors' is essentially a format where those two qualities stop being a liability and start being a competitive advantage," Evan Nierman, CEO of the global PR firm Red Banyan, told Business Insider.
As the season unfolded, Rausch's scene-stealing moves inspired flattering headlines and countless TikTok fancams set to songs like Saweetie's "My Type," Kendrick Lamar's "Like That," and Taylor Swift's "Cancelled!" On his own Instagram page, Rausch has flaunted brand partnerships with Sonic and Celsius, as well as his clothing brand, Creek Rat, to over 1.7 million followers.
Out of "Love Island" infamy, a star was born. With the space to show more of his personality in a different context outside of a dating series, Nierman said "The Traitors" has given Rausch a "multi-dimensional public profile."
"Viewers observe you problem-solving under pressure, forming real friendships, navigating betrayal, and handling the game's emotional weight in real time," he said. "That's character evidence more persuasive than anything a publicist could engineer from the outside."
For reality stars, getting cast on 'The Traitors' is the hottest ticket in Hollywood
Rob Rausch makes his case at the "Traitors" roundtable on season four.Euan Cherry/Peacock via Getty Images
Since the first US season debuted in 2023, "The Traitors" has become appointment TV for reality fans.
Juliana Martins, celebrity publicist and Founder of Eleven11 Media Relations, said she's had requests coming in "left and right" from talent agents asking how they can get their clients cast on "The Traitors."
"A show like this, from a publicity perspective, is phenomenal," Martins said. "It's also so competitive to get on now because everybody wants it."
Because the game requires a certain amount of backstabbing and deception, even from the so-called Faithfuls — whose job it is to stay alive and sniff out the Traitors while voting to boot one player per episode — the show is high risk, high reward for those looking to reenter the news cycle.
"It really catapults reality stars into other opportunities," Martins explained. "Dylan Efron, for example, reached a broader audience through 'Traitors,' and then he went on to do 'Dancing With the Stars.'"
Efron, previously best known as Zac Efron's younger brother, appeared on season three and — spoiler alert! — won the show with a small group of Faithfuls, including former "Bachelorette" Gabby Windey, who said appearing on "The Traitors" was "the best thing I've done for my career."
Rob Mariano, aka "Survivor" legend Boston Rob, also starred on season three and parlayed his renewed visibility into a cohosting gig on the official "Traitors" podcast. He and Efron have transformed their in-castle "bromance" into a professional partnership.
"For legacy reality stars like Boston Rob, returning to a really popular series can reintroduce them to a new audience, new viewers, while also still re-engaging fans," Martins said. "It can lead to future casting opportunities, brand partnerships, hosting gigs, and other opportunities that really contribute to their career longevity and their overall perception."
Rob Mariano and Alan Cumming on "The Traitors" season three.Euan Cherry/Peacock via Getty Images
Peter Weber, a former "Bachelor" star, received a hero's edit on season two thanks to his bold gameplay, keen instincts, and self-branding as the ultimate Faithful.
Martins, who previously worked with Weber on the promotional campaign for his 2021 children's book and has advised him on other projects, attributed his success on "The Traitors" to the show's unique format.
"Most reality shows are built around a specific narrative framework. 'The Bachelor' centers on finding one true love, and because of that structure, that editing and the storytelling, they're designed to support that one core goal and theme, which I think limits how somebody can fully show their personality," Martins explained.
By contrast, a show like "The Traitors" is more playful and less precious about hemming in its contestants. Part of its charm is the varied cast of characters, all trying to suss out each other's quirks and peculiarities.
"In Peter Weber's case, viewers really saw qualities that have been a part of who he is, but weren't really highlighted on his original seasons of 'The Bachelorette' or 'The Bachelor,'" Martins said. "'The Traitors' gave audiences a fuller understanding of him, rather than redefining him."
Still, that opportunity for a less restricted, more complex arc can be a double-edged sword (or, in the case of "The Traitors," a double-edged dagger).
"The exposure can cut both ways," Martins said. "The 'Traitors' format does leave very little room to hide."
Not everyone on 'The Traitors' can pull off a redemption arc
Lisa Rinna and Colton Underwood, center, on "The Traitors" season four.Euan Cherry/Peacock via Getty Images
Season four's resident "Bachelor" star is Colton Underwood, a former pro football player who had a tumultuous ride on the dating show. (His most famous scene involved him hopping a massive fence to escape the camera crew.)
After coming out as gay in 2021, Underwood found himself back in the reality TV conversation with "The Traitors. Though he was hoping to be cast as a Traitor, he was ultimately made a Faithful, , and his aggressive gameplay ultimately made him a target both in the castle and on social media. He flung out accusations and dominated the roundtable debates. After he rallied his castmates to erroneously banish Tiffany Mitchell, she wrote on X, "It's actually fuck Colton Underwood and I said that shit."
Though Underwood did accurately guess that "Real Housewives" alum Lisa Rinna was a Traitor, he did so in a memorable scene where he threatened to blackmail her in the game, detailing a plan to "hold her hostage." This language prompted many viewers to recirculate stalking accusations from Underwood's ex-girlfriend, Cassie Randolph, who filed a restraining order against him in 2020. (She later dropped the order, and Underwood said at the time that he and Randolph "were able to reach a private agreement.")
If Underwood hoped to use "The Traitors" to recover or distract from his past, it backfired. Many viewers criticized his energy as off-putting, unlikable, and overconfident. The Cut published an article titled, "Colton Underwood's Reality-TV Rebrand Isn't Going Very Well." Meanwhile, Rausch is the latest star of the publication's "Dream Date" series.
In a statement to Business Insider, Underwood's representative said he had "the best time" on the show.
"Colton came into Traitors Season 4 as a fan of the franchise ready to play the game. Since leaving the castle, he has continued to expand his network and slate. His involvement in the show is one he's truly grateful for."
Historically, villains from other TV shows have fared well on "The Traitors." Infamous "Vanderpump Rules" star Tom Sandoval was dubbed by The New York Times as "the most hated man in America" after a very public cheating scandal, but bumbled through "The Traitors" season three with little to no backlash.
"I was like, Tom Sandoval's here? Damn, this guy's still getting gigs? It's good controversy," Windey told Variety. "And then who knew? He actually kind of redeemed himself — he was the village idiot."
Phaedra Parks and Alan Cumming on "The Traitors" season two.Euan Cherry/Peacock via Getty Images
Nierman also cited Phaedra Parks — who was fired from "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" in 2017 after admitting to spreading harmful rumors about a fellow Housewife — as a cast member who had a massive reputational shift after appearing on "The Traitors." In a game that rewards wit and discernment, her snappy one-liners and cutting takedowns at the round table went viral, and the moments helped all be forgiven by viewers. Her return to "Real Housewives" was announced shortly thereafter.
Vanzil Burke, who was Parks' manager at the time, said the rumor-spreading scandal "almost destroyed" Parks' career, but her popularity on "The Traitors" reopened doors for her.
"It was needed for her professional career," Burke told Business Insider. "I had no doubt that she would go in, read the room, and handle it."
Being a Traitor allowed Parks to play up her "bad girl" persona, Burke said, while also proving to viewers that she'd matured and mellowed since she last appeared onscreen.
Still, as with every PR maneuver, one size doesn't fit all.
Rausch, Sandoval, and Parks read as authentic because they didn't try to hide their notoriety, turning their perceived flaws — cunning, cluelessness, and shady reads, respectively — into assets. On the flip side, Nierman said Underwood lacked humility and self-awareness.
"The foundational rule of reputation repair is showing people you understand why they distrust you," Nierman said. "Colton walked into the castle and did the opposite by immediately positioning himself as the leader of the Faithfuls in a way that confirmed every instinct that viewers already had about his controlling tendencies."
"If the arc feels like a calculated PR move rather than genuine growth, then audiences will not only reject it but be even more against you," Nierman added.
Ultimately, the real winners of "The Traitors" aren't the players who go home with a portion of the prize pot (somewhere around $250,000, depending on their success in challenges). It's the players who emerge with the public's favor, a busy phone line, and maybe even a comeback story.
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