Samantha Allen: First of all, I have to say how excited I was for this season of The Traitors. I’ve watched multiple seasons from multiple countries, but this cast in particular was catnip for me: Peter Weber is on the show, and I literally wrote a Bachelor satire that Peter interviewed me about! You’ve got Peppermint on the show, representing the trans community. Parvati has long been one of my favorite Survivor contestants. How much of a Traitors fan are you, and who were you watching for?
Amalie MacGowan: I have to admit I came into this show with little-to-no context apart from the knowledge that: 1) Alan Cumming was the host and 2) The all-star cast pulls from a variety of reality greats (e.g, Real Housewives, Survivor, Big Brother, etc.)
What I didn’t expect was the sheer level of campy, Macbeth-style chaos. Beyond Peppermint, of course, I was psyched to see Phaedra Parks and Shereé Whitfield from Real Housewives of Atlanta, as well as Larsa Pippen and Tamra Judge, known hellions from Miami and Orange County, respectively. Bravo has the rights to half my personality. What do you think of the drama so far?
SA: So glad you’re into the overall vibe. Give me Alan Cumming dramatically reciting the lyrics to “Auld Lang Syne” and I’m happy!
Obviously, we’ve got to talk about Peppermint being the first person voted off at a roundtable. Taking a broad view, I think she made some classic Traitors mistakes: early in the game, people whip themselves up into a herd mentality over anyone who makes nervous comments or little verbal slips, all while the real malefactors lurk quietly in the shadows. I think Peppermint punched her ticket home as soon as she accidentally referred to herself as a “traitor.”
That said, it was hard not to feel like The Challenge star Trishelle Cannatella’s targeting of her at the roundtable was charged, especially her comments about Peppermint being “disrespectful” when she was just passionately defending herself. (They apparently haven’t spoken to each other since filming.) It’s not lost on me that a Black trans woman was the first to get voted out of the castle, especially given how much other social competition shows like Survivor have struggled with the treatment of contestants of color. What did you make of the Trishelle / Peppermint situation?
