Candiace Dillard Bassett has been at the center of one of the most talked-about Traitors seasons to date. From her vote against fellow Traitor, Rob Rausch, at her last roundtable, to deeper conversations about bias and perception inside the castle, The Real Housewives of Potomac alumna and The Traitors Season 4 star has sparked major fan discourse.
In an exit interview, Dillard Bassett spoke with Blavity’s Shadow and Act to discuss her roundtable strategy, the moment with Tiffany Mitchell that resonated with fans, and her reaction to online theories and conversation around her game.
I want to start with something that’s been the subject of discourse on social media — your vote against Rob at the roundtable. In that moment, was your mind leaning more toward, “OK, I’m upset at him right now, let me cast some things his way”? Did you think, “Maybe this is strategy and could make people start thinking about him”? Or do you think it was more emotional at the time — like, “If I’m going down, I’m taking him with me”? What was your thought process?
I love this question. I love that it has raised so much discourse in the zeitgeist of the show because I think it speaks to broader topics in society — whether or not we live in a patriarchal society, or if women are seen as equal to.
And for me, yes, I have this reputation, if you will, for being someone who cries a lot on Potomac. The cry-angle was like the eighth housewife. I’m proud of my cry-angle [laughs]. But I resented a lot of the discourse in that my choices were often seen as emotional, where there would be others in the castle — not just Rob, but others — who would make similar moves, and they would be seen as, “Oh, that was strategy. Oh, that was bravery.” That was something other than dialing into emotion. But somehow, for me, I was tied to being emotional.
I was very sure of the choice I was making when I was making it. That roundtable is intense. It is not for the faint of heart. It is not meant for the weak. And we all had to come in and bring our muscle to that table, and I was no different. You don’t have a lot of time to make choices. You’ve got to be game-time about it. And I was. I had had inklings prior to this roundtable with Rob, so I was kind of certain of the direction I wanted to go in.
And then when he cast his vote for Lisa [Rinna] and officially signaled that he was breaking up the band, I said, “OK, we’re going toe to toe. We’re really playing now.” And it was meant to be his warning shot. It was also meant to say, “I see that you are playing a different type of sleuthy game.” You essentially lied to us at breakfast that morning when you said you were sorry and you were just in the moment and caught up and you were still with us. And then you get to the table that night and vote for Lisa — but not only vote for her, but also lead the charge against her.
So it was a very loud messaging to me. It’s like water is wet. The sky is blue. I’m a Black woman. These are not questionable items on the docket. We know these things to be true. And if you show me who you are, essentially, I’m going to believe you. You showed me that you can’t be trusted and that you are willing to gleefully take down one of your own. So I needed to shift — and my shift was in the form of a vote.
I know that in the preseason, there was a red carpet interview that went viral where you said someone was going to get cussed out at the reunion. At the time, people speculated that it was Porsha Williams, but now people think it’s Rob. Can you confirm who you were talking about in that interview?
I cannot. We still have so much show left. We have quite a few episodes left, and we have a reunion to get to — the Traitors Super Bowl, if you will. So there’s still enough game left that I want to keep you all guessing.
It’s interesting how people have so many theories. On Reddit, there are whole threads dedicated to who unfollowed who, who commented on what, all of that. I think people are trying to guess as hard as they can.
And I love that. I love all that. And a lot of the theories are good. They’re rooted in what feels like solid research, so I appreciate it. But the truth — all will be revealed very soon.
We’ve spoken to some of your castmates — Monét X Change and Ron Funches — who mentioned that they felt there may be some implicit bias at play, especially in how Ron was received after making a misstep versus how Colton Underwood and Eric Nam were. You also talked in this interview about being perceived as “over-emotional,” even when others were doing the same things. Do you think this season showed people being judged by different standards?
Yeah. I think something that I guess I didn’t quite pick up on before — because I was a viewer of the series — but everything is different when you’re in something. Everything comes alive when you are in it.
Being in the castle and then coming out and having hindsight and having an aerial view once we had wrapped up — this is definitely a social experiment. And it is definitely a lesson in all kinds of biases. And you see us deal with that on the show, and I’m sure it will be addressed in some way at the reunion. But yeah, Tiffany really hit me.
Yeah, that moment between you and Tiffany is something a lot of fans have pointed to — especially seeing how you were able to understand what she was going through in real time.
For sure. My empathy meter — it broke. It went way, way out.
And again, we’re playing a game. I’m a Traitor. Eventually, I was going to be tasked with whether or not to murder everyone — or half of the people. Half would be banished, half would be murdered. And I was aware of that coming in. But it wasn’t Tiffany’s time.
And I also think that there’s something to be said about a certain type of person who is more colorful and just presents with more personality than others. And often, I think one of the most beautiful things about Black people is how expressive we are and how colorful we are and how in tune with emotion we are.
And in a game like this, I think that sometimes that can be a downfall — because it looks as if, “Oh, you’re so loud,” or “You’re so extra.” You’re so whatever it is — and now all eyes are on you.
And we stand out. I grew up in predominantly white spaces. And it wasn’t until I attended an HBCU — the Howard University, the number one HBCU — that I started to feel beautifully blended, if you will.
Even in the last few weeks, I’ve been in a lot of spaces where I was the only [one]. And you feel the stares, and you feel the othering — whether it’s intentional or not. And I don’t think that it’s always intentional. A lot of it is just, as Monét explained it, an implicit bias that comes into play. And it’s something that I think we all navigate and have to figure out how to rationalize. And it was no different in the castle, I think.
We always need more of you on reality TV, so I hope someone is booking your next project. And I can’t wait to check out your new single, too.
“If Only” — it’s out now, so stream it, run it up. Yes. My video is also dropping very soon. So yes — thank you for mentioning that.
The Traitors airs weekly on Thursday on Peacock.