Colton Underwood reveals where he stands with Michael Rapaport

Colton Underwood is ready to move forward with Michael Rapaport after a deeply personal feud with the actor during the recent season of “The Traitors.” The latest episode of the exciting competition series sparked a strong backlash from viewers who slammed Rapaport for making a “homophobic” statement during the show’s intense panel discussion. However, during a recent interview, Underwood hinted that he was ready to bury the hatchet with Rapaport once and for all.

Colton Underwood says Michael Rapaport made a ‘personal’ attack on him on ‘The Traitors’

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Underwood opened up about how difficult the coming out process can be for LGBTQ+ people. “I’m still working on how to deal with this, and I think you definitely see this coming and hitting me,” he said. “The reason I said yes to a show like The Traitors is because it’s not personal.”

For those who may have missed it, Rapaport stunned his “Traitors” co-stars when he appeared to take a personal dig at Underwood at the end of episode 5, saying “no one in this room would be better at keeping a secret than you.” Many interpreted Rapaport’s comments as a reference to the reality star’s decision to publicly come out as gay in April 2021.

“The drama and intensity of the show is always very focused on the game, so I think that’s what threw me off a little bit was when it got personal and it was using me as a human being instead of my gameplay against me. That’s what caught me off guard, and I think you felt and saw that in the episode,” Underwood said.

Colton Underwood has no ‘grudges’ against Rapaport

During the episode, many of Underwood’s co-stars, including Jonny Weir and Candiace Dillard Bassett, rushed to his defense. And while Rapaport insisted his statement had nothing to do with his sexuality, Underwood certainly felt otherwise.

“I could just tell you how I took it, and I realized that it wasn’t in the spirit of play and that it was more of a personal dig at my past, what I’ve been through and how I’ve behaved,” he said. “I’ll be the first person to say that I’m definitely not perfect and I’ve definitely made a lot of mistakes. But at this point in my life, it was five or six years ago when I started the coming out process, and I’m in such a different place in my life, with my family and professionally.”

Underwood shared that he has no “hard feelings” against Rapaport, noting that the latter has reached out to apologize for his comments. “…but I think it’s important for me at this point in my life to start standing up for myself. I can only be a punching bag for so long. Even today, seeing some people’s reactions [and] fans of the show’s comments towards me, I can only stay silent for so long,” he added.

Some viewers were horrified by Rapaport’s comments

Rapaport’s comments didn’t sit well with some fans of the show, who immediately rushed to social media to criticize the “True Romance” actor for his “homophobic” comments.

“F**k Michael Rapaport,” someone wrote. “He’s been known to be a bigot for a long time. Colton is no angel and also has a shady past, but the sexuality comment triggered me. He reminded me of those men who are bullies and can’t stand gay men calling them out.”

Another user accused Rapaport of “hissing homophobia,” while a third claimed Rapaport should have been immediately removed from the game for his seemingly insensitive comments.

Some viewers come to Rapaport’s defense in feud with Colton Underwood

Meanwhile, other users wondered if Rapaport meant her statement the way some cast members and other viewers interpreted it.

“Big Brother” alum Tommy Bracco wrote: “If that’s all Michael said at the time, I don’t understand why everyone was freaking out over him. He’s right.”

Another shared: “This is hot, I don’t think it’s homophobic at all,” while a third posted: “I never even thought about his sexuality. I thought he meant Colton was so good at rallying people that he would be good at keeping his traitor’s secret.”

Rapaport sends best wishes to Underwood

After the episode, Rapaport gave viewers an update on her relationship with Underwood now that production on the series had wrapped.

“I spoke to [Underwood] right after filming. We had a great man-to-man conversation, and it was all very cool and respectful. I like him and wish him and his family the best,” he said.