Colton Underwood's 'stalking' past revealed as Traitors US fans side with Michael Rapaport after row
There was a huge backlash over Colton's appearance in the showColton Underwood failed to garner much sympathy from American Traitors US fans following his row with Michael Rapaport – and TVGuide can reveal it was due to his ‘stalking’ past.
Brit viewers watching episode 5 of the new series for the first time will likely rally to Colton’s defence during the blistering argument.
Michael is adamant the former Bachelor star is a Traitor and does everything in his power to call him out on it.
In an outburst at the Round Table in the latest episode drop, Michael appears to make a dig about Colton hiding his sexuality for many years.
He tells the now-openly gay star: “Nobody in this room would be better at holding a secret than you.”
Colton replied: “There it is. You think it was fun for 29 years of my life?”
Denying that it was what he was referring, Michael insisted: “Oh no, no, no. It’s nothing to do with that. I think you came into this game loving to be a Traitor.”
But while viewers this side of the pond might see it as a low blow, fans in America surprisingly rallied to Michael’s defence.
But why? We’ve done some digging…
The Traitors US: Colton Underwood’s ‘stalking’ past revealed
Writing on Reddit after Colton and Michael’s Round Table row, one American viewer who watched the series in January wrote: “Colton is exhausting and clearly twisted what Michael said to get sympathy points.”
Another added: “Colton is %1000 percent playing the victim.”
Over on X, formerly known as Twitter, someone else posted: “Colton is a TERRIBLE person so he shouldn’t be on my tv anyway.”
And one viewer penned: “OKAY, get Colton out of here. What a cocky manipulator. I’m no fan of Michael at all but are you kidding me?”
Confused? Let us bring you up to speed.
Colton found fame on The Bachelorette as a contestant before he was offered the led role in The Bachelor. It was 2018 and Colton was known as ‘the virgin bachelor’ due to his lack of experience between the sheets with women.
The former American football player dated 30 women on the show, before narrowing down a final three. One of those ladies was Cassie Randolph.
In dramatic scenes, Cassie quit The Bachelor before the final. She felt nervous about committing to an engagement if he picked her.
Colton was then shown dramatically jumping over a fence in Portugal and running away from producers, seemingly devastated that she had gone.
He later broke up with the other two girls and convinced Cassie to return, picking her as his winner. He insisted she was the one for him and off they went into the distance.
The couple stayed together for a year once the cameras had stopped rolling. But their fairytale romance had a nightmare ending when Colton was accused of stalking Cassie – before later coming out as gay.
Colton served with restraining order for ‘stalking’
In September 2020, Colton was served with a temporary restraining order by Cassie.
Court documents seen by the Los Angeles Times ruled that Colton was prohibited from “harassing, surveilling and contacting her or taking any action, directly or through others, to reach her”.
It came after TMZ alleged that Colton had stalked and harassed her with disturbing text messages. Cassie was even said to have reported Colton for allegedly ‘placing a tracking device’ underneath her car.
Colton was also accused of turning up uninvited at Cassie’s LA apartment and her parents’ beach house.
When contacted at the time, a rep for Colton told the Los Angeles Times: “As this is a legal matter, we cannot provide further comment at this time.”
When did Cassie discover Colton was gay?
The restraining order against Colton was dropped in November 2020.
Colton said in a statement: “Today Cassie asked the court to dismiss the temporary restraining order against me. The two of us were able to reach a private agreement to address any of Cassie’s concerns.
“I do not believe Cassie did anything wrong in filing for the restraining orders and also believe she acted in good faith. I appreciate everyone’s respect for privacy regarding this matter.”
Five months later, Colton came out as gay during an interview on Good Morning America.
He has since admitted he had intimate experiences with men – but not sex – before appearing on The Bachelor.
Speaking on a podcast, Cassie said: “I found out at the same time as everyone else did. I was in Mexico in vacation with friends, but found out through Snapchat on GMA.
“It was horrible and it was just a shocking kind of thing. I found out when the world found out.”
Colton married Democratic strategist Jordan C. Brown in May 2023 and they have one son together. They welcomed Bishop with the help of an egg donor and surrogate.
Colton Underwood addresses Traitors US backlash
Colton was announced as member of the 23-strong cast for The Traitors US last year. But when the show aired in January, he faced a huge backlash from American fans.
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Many felt cross that he had been cast, given his history with Cassie. It also explains the American fans’ reaction to his row with Michael that we are only just seeing now in the UK.
Addressing the Traitors backlash to USA Today, Colton said: “It was a private matter that was handled privately a while ago. So for it to come back up six years later was not something I expected.”
He added: “I am now a father. I am a husband. How I show up in my everyday life with my family is not how I show up on the television screen playing the game Traitors.
“I am a very intense competitor. I love competing. I love winning. That version of Colton that everybody saw is not really who I am, but I totally see why, for some people, it was a little jarring seeing me again.”
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