Just two episodes in, and fans of The Traitors are already pointing out the unconscious racism. However, discrimination has always been sewn into the fabric of the reality thriller, much as it is in everyday society.
The Traitors shows society’s racial bias
So far this series, both of the people who have gone home have been women of colour – Judy was banished at the first roundtable, and Netty was the first “murder” victim.
The (mostly white) contestants piled on Judy for being, on the whole, too brash and changing her personality too much. When white contestants were accused, they picked out physical things they’d done, such as seeming more anxious after taking the blindfold off.
To add insult to injury, the contestants inherently trusted the white man, Sam, who was leading the charge against Judy. With one even saying it was because he was “very articulate”, when in reality he wasn’t any more articulate than her.
As well as Judy, the only other contestant who faced as much scrutiny was Ross, who is a black man. They latched onto him, having a very vague connection to Netty. His personality and being standoffish were also brought up. It’s like the white contestants have been doing what white people always do, watching minoritised people more closely.
Usually the traitors talk through who they should murder but now the secret traitor draws up a shortlist of three for the other traitors to pick from every night. And surprise, surprise it’s still racist af. While just 6 out of 22 contestants are people of colour, 3 of the 5 shortlisted for murder have been people of colour. In the first episode 2 of the 3 shortlisted were people of colour. There are three picked each night, but Maz has already been picked twice.
Fans call out The Traitors’ racism
The racism on The Traitors is something that viewers have massively picked up on. Commentator Narinder Kaur called the show and reality tv on the whole out:
The racism is glaringly obvious and it’s astounding ppl keep gaslighting us that its just a damn coincidence!
She carried on:
It’s astounding that media aren’t discussing the racism on the Traitors! (And reality TV shows in general in the UK).
Even worse if you’re a WOC and happen to be clever, outspoken and confident – you’re obviously traitors. No other explanation. Doesn’t matter if they said exactly the same words as a white man!!!
Others also pointed out the rampant racism in the show
A person of colour speaks: TRAITOR
A person of colour explains themselves: TRAITOR
A person of colour is reserved: TRAITOR
Goodness me #TheTraitors
— Naé (@naermc) January 2, 2026
Some pointed out how Maz being on the murder list twice makes absolutely zero sense:
WHY has Maz – a man with next-to-no screentime – been on the murder shortlist twice #TheTraitors pic.twitter.com/uKF0HpECDC
— Jasmine Valentine (@thejasvalentine) January 2, 2026
As another user pointed out what The Traitors says about society as a whole. Because to be a person of colour in society means constant scrutiny and people picking you apart in ways white people aren’t.
this show is so important bc it shows how being an ethnic minority means people are always watching you, waiting for a reason not to like you. if you don’t fit what they expect all the time you’re automatically suspicious. no matter what you do you’re being judged #TheTraitors
— p (@machannold) January 2, 2026
It’s not just this series
It’s not just this season of The Traitors, though. All four previous series of the show, including Celebrity Traitors, have seen a marginalised person banished first.
Tameka Empson, the first banished from Celebrity Traitors, also didn’t last long in another reality tv show. She was out on the second week of her series of Strictly Come Dancing. First out of that series was Melvin Odoom, another black person. Across Strictly’s history, people of colour have never done particularly well. Just five celebrities of colour have won the show in 22 years. A woman of colour has only won it once, when Alesha Dixon won it in 2007.
This is even more of an issue as Strictly hinges on the public vote, so the public’s racial bias comes out. Last series, Balvinder Sopal was in the dance off six times, more than any other contestant on the whole show. This was despite her being a really good dancer, who’d performed well for most of the series.
In previous series of The Traitors, we’ve also seen increased scrutiny on players of colour. Anthony in series one was accused of being too aggressive, whereas Kasim in series three was called “too nice”. Because you just can’t win. People of colour are also dismissed more, such as in the case of Jaz, who was repeatedly ignored. This is despite his suspicions nearly always being right.
Disabled players distrusted too
Though not all of those out first of The Traitors have been people of colour. In series one, Nicky, a disabled person, was the first to be banished. In an absolutely ridiculously ableist move, the reasoning was that she didn’t “cheers” when they pledged to catch the traitors. What they didn’t care about was the fact that she couldn’t – her glass was placed on the side where she didn’t have a hand.
Nicky was also called bossy for apparently shouting orders at everyone during the first task. However, there wasn’t really much else she could do in a task that centred around unravelling knots. And you know that if she hadn’t taken charge, she would’ve been called lazy.
Because it’s not just people of colour that are treated badly on The Traitors, disabled people are, of course, treated exactly as they are in society. The worst display of ableism, but sadly true to life, is the way a contestant with ADHD was treated in series one. Aaron was consistently accused of being a traitor because others said they felt like he’d “drilled” them for information. They also pointed to the fact that he’s always nervously bouncing about.
These are, of course, ADHD traits, but something the others don’t believe. In particular, when he got too overwhelmed by being shouted at and asked for time out. This was obviously a really hard moment for him, but instead of treating his panic attack with compassion, the others accused him of faking it to get out of the situation.
Ableism coming out in this series too
Back to this series of The Traitors, Netty, the first murdered, also had a limb difference, like Nicky. Though a disability wasn’t identified, suspicion was cast on Judy when she pulled away from pushing the massive cart up the hill. This was seen as her not caring, despite the fact she’s in her bloody 60s and was obviously knackered.
The one I’m most nervous about is whether Jessie, who has a stutter, comes under the microscope. It’ll be absolutely awful if they also inevitably turn on her and claim she’s faking, too.
Discrimination on reality TV only highlights a bigger problem in society
At the end of the day, The Traitors and other reality shows don’t exist in isolation. The bias we see on The Traitors only highlights just how discriminatory society is on the whole. Because while not everyone is a flag shagger who spends all day screaming about “boat people” and how everyone on benefits is a scrounger, many are unconsciously biased towards people they see as “different”.
Yes, there are biases on reality TV, but it’s only because of the biases we hold in everyday life. It shows up in smaller ways, such as not trusting someone who’s disabled to do a task as well. Or the insidious ways like how it’s drummed into white girls that they should be wary about a taxi driver who is a man of colour.
Of course, there’s a reason for these views. The disgusting corporate media and politicians backed by rich donors peddle these lies until they seep into our consciousness. Every year, people are shocked at the biases we see on reality TV, but until more is done to stop the vile rhetoric that’s pushed by people who only care about getting richer, nothing will change.
Featured image via the Canary
From Canary via This RSS Feed.