
Bob The Drag Queen Was a Perfect Traitor
By Tobias Hess
Jan 30, 2025Bob The Drag Queen is a different kind of traitor. Where most contestants who are selected as assassins in the mafia-style game adopt a low-key approach, the RuPaul’s Drag Race winner (and recent host of Madonna’s Celebration Tour) knew that dialing down was not an option. He led roundtable conversations, advocated for himself and women contestants in challenges and was generally doing the most at all times, as expected.
“People are like, ‘You were so obvious.’ That's how I would be acting if I was a faithful. That's how I'd be acting if I was the director. That's how I would be acting if I was Alan Cumming. That's how I'd be acting if I was working craft services,” Bob tells PAPER. “That was not traitorous behavior. That was just Bob The Drag Queen behavior.”
It could have worked out were it not for Survivor legend (and fellow traitor) Boston Rob turning on his accomplice. “It made sense to get me out of the turret and the roundtable, because I was a very demanding and commanding presence. But I don't think it was a smart strategy for him,” Bob says of Rob’s move. But Rob, who was ticked off by Bob The Drag Queen vaguely implicating him as a potential traitor to the whole group, thought it was necessary. As Rob said in a confessional: “Either you’re with me or against me.”
Regardless, Bob The Drag Queen could do little to counter Rob’s “masterful blind side.” While Boston Rob was scheming before the roundtable, Bob The Drag Queen was out of the castle, taking a moment to process. His mother had passed away mere weeks before the show was set to film, and the traitorous plots and reality show antics were a lot to balance with his process of grief. “I couldn't even defend myself. I didn't even know that was happening. I had no clue,” he remembers.
In the end, his dramatic banishment stung on a number of levels. He’s made peace with the show and the cast, but the main source of pain was the fact that his fellow traitor, Danielle Reyes, his “ride-or-die,” turned on him, voting for his banishment. “I understand Danielle's rationale. I also know that it is a game, [but]I would have never [voted for her] in a million years,” Bob shares, reflecting on what he’d do if the roles were reversed.
In the end, we’re sad to see our favorite fab schemer banished from the castle, but at least Bob The Drag Queen went out with a bang. When it was time for him to admit his status as a “faithful” or “traitor” in the “circle of truth,” Bob The Queen delivered an all-time line. “I sweared on God... GOD,” he screamed with the gravity of a soliloquy. “And that was a lie because I don’t believe in God: I’m a traitor.” One thing about a drag queen is they’ll always put on a show. Bravo!
PAPER caught up with the multi-faceted performer and recovering traitor about his dramatic stint on the show, learning about the housewives, and his forthcoming novel, Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert.I loved your stint on The Traitors. I know it probably didn't last as long as you were hoping, but you burned bright. Now that the dust has settled: How are you thinking about your time on The Traitors?
We filmed last year, so I've had a lot of time to think about it: I actually feel pretty good. I'm really proud of what I did on the show. I did intend to win, but I've never played a strategy game. The only reality TV shows I've ever been on have been either shows where I'm helping people or trying to display my performance talents, not my gaslighting and manipulation talent [laughs]. I played hard and fast. And of course, you're playing against a bunch of people from Big Brother and Survivor, who do these strategy based games for a living. Then there were some Housewives, Britney Spears’ ex boyfriend, Zac Efron’s brother [laughs].
Were you a fan of the show prior? Did you do your homework before?
I started watching season two when Peppermint went on. And then I got a call to be on the show, which was quite exciting for me.
Did watching it give you a clear strategy?
I had a pretty unique strategy, which was to never tell a lie, except for that I was a faithful. That was the one lie that I told, because I have to tell that lie. But besides that, I was like, I'm just going to play the most honest game possible. And if you always tell the truth, then it's going to be hard to get caught in a lie. And to be fair: I never got caught in a lie, except the lie that I'm a faithful. But every traitor gets caught in that lie.
What's an example of a truth that you told that you really stood on?
I said that people were saying that Wells Adams was a traitor, which is true. People did say that. And then I said that I didn’t believe he’s a traitor, which is true, because I knew he wasn't. I told Cierra Miller that she didn't need a shield, because everyone thought she was a traitor. Someone was going to banish her, so the traitors weren't going to kill her. I was not going to murder her that night because it made her look even more guilty if she kept sticking around.
People think that I'm lying when I say I didn't know anyone there. People cannot believe that I didn't know who Dorinda Medley was. I don't know why that is so hard for them to fathom, but I don't watch Housewives, so I don't know this lady. I know her now, obviously, but people couldn't believe that I just didn't know any of the housewives. To be clear: me not knowing someone is no indication of how famous they are or not. It just talks about the media I consume.
Was anyone making a big first impression on you when you got to the castle, given that you had no prior assumptions?
Well, Gabby Wendy, but just because we hit it off and were laughing and having a good time. Tony [Vlachos], because everyone kept being like, “Oh my god, Tony is here.” People were really shook by Tony's presence, because apparently he's really nefarious on Survivor. I did not know this. I still don't know this. I just know everyone's word for it. Everyone kept being like, “We got to get Tony out of here.” They were so scared of him and Boston Rob, who, again, I did not know. But I know that everyone was very nervous about Boston Rob being on the show. People felt very uncomfortable with his presence there. I did not know why, because I did not know what he was up to or capable of.
I guess now you do.
I certainly do now. Also, I just want to give Boston Rob one bit of shout out. Everyone's calling him bald. Boston Rob is not bald. He has a full head of hair under his hat. We were sitting down one day when the cameras were down and he took his hat off, and I was blown away. I was like, “I was assuming you were covering your hair up because you don't have any.”He has a lot of hair. I was really like, Oh my god, Boston, Rob has a lot of hair that he never shows anyone.
Oh right — you made a comment about his hat. You weren’t feeling it.
Everyone was all dressed up. Even Tony was dressed up. Even the Survivor people who live in the woods and wear T-shirts around their heads and shirts for skirts were all dressed up. And I was like, “Oh my God, a backwards hat in the blazer... girl, come on.”
When Alan picked you as a traitor, what was going through your mind that day? How were you feeling?
I had it in my heart that I was going to be a traitor. I thought it'd be crazy for them to not pick me as a traitor, because I thought I would be so good at it. And to be honest, I think I did a good job. A lot of people criticize some of the choices that I made on the show, but I stand by them. Everything that I intended to happen through my choices as a traitor had all of their intended effects. People were very suspicious of the housewives. Everyone was suspicious of Robyn Dixon. People were suspicious of Lord Ivar because of the Dorinda kill. People were very confused by us killing Chanel Ayan. And Jeremy's murder was really to protect Danielle, because he was on to her and he's very convincing. He doesn't do his talking at the roundtable. He does his talking in the castle. I can talk you down at the roundtable, but if you're talking in the castle and I don't know what's happening... he could have gotten rid of Danielle and she was my ride-or-die. So I let her lead the charge and we got rid of him.
I loved your reaction to Danielle being a traitor. What were you thinking when you had that reveal?
Danielle and I were on the raft together just seething because we were so cold and we were so annoyed. We couldn't believe they left us. They actually left us. Everyone did — people from the set, production — they drove away and we were on the dock by ourselves. That was not for TV. One of my plans was to get rid of Britney [Haynes] for Danielle, because I know that Britney had done Danielle dirty. And I was like, “Well, I got your back. I'm gonna get this Britney girl out of here. She did you wrong, and she'll pay for that.” But then when I saw her in the turret with me, I was so just geeked. My reaction was very authentic. Everything I did on that show was authentic. I was never acting. Any tears I shed were real tears. I was never turning it on. I was maybe leaning into it, but I was never acting.
I've never in my life thought that I need to be low-key...that was not traitorous behavior. That was just Bob The Drag Queen behavior.
What was your reaction to Carolyn Wiger? She's so interesting, because on the outside, she's this frantic ball of energy, but she's also very strategic internally.
A lot of people online keep being like, “Why don't you guys listen to Carolyn?” which is a fair critique if you're watching from home. It's easy to say what you would do when you never have to prove it. But when I was there, there were moments where she would advocate for something, but she wasn't advocating in a way that was articulate. I’m not saying she's inarticulate, but she was not articulating her point very well. They didn't make sense. I'm like, I don't know what you're saying. It was basically, “Just trust me, bro.” Whereas when Danielle was saying her points, she was giving the reasons why.
Carolyn has a thing where she's like, “No one ever listens to me.” Caroline's my age and she’s like, “No one ever listens to me.” Like, girl, if you're in your late 30s and no one ever listened to you... at some point, it might be the way you're communicating. I'm not saying it's her fault. But at what point do you have a part in it? And I think we were listening... and honestly, maybe her decisions would have been right. It’s easy to say, because we'll never know.
The usual strategy for traitors is to be as low-key as possible. But you made your opinion heard, you’re a natural leader. Was there ever a moment when you're like, Okay, I really have to dial this down?
No, I've never in my life thought that I need to be low-key. People are like, you're so obvious. That's how I would be acting if I was a faithful. That's how I would be acting if I was a traitor. That's how I'd be acting if I was the director. That's how I would be acting if I was Alan Cumming. That's how I'd be acting if I was working craft services. It doesn't matter where I'm at. That's how I'm gonna be. It's how I've been my whole life. So that was not traitorous behavior. That was just Bob The Drag Queen behavior. That's how I act everywhere I am. I'm very loud, I'm very boisterous, I'm very too much, and I make sure that my opinions are heard.
You were guiding the conversations, and it was really working in your favor. But then Dylan Efron seemed to be on to you early. Did that surprise you? Were you stressed about him?
I was stressed about him, but I didn't think that his reasons for me being a traitor actually made sense. He was saying stuff like, “Because you're smart.” I'm like, okay, that doesn't make you a traitor. Being smart doesn't make you a traitor. “Because you're a good actor.” Okay, being a good actor doesn’t make you a traitor. You don't get to pick if you're a traitor. You are chosen to be a traitor. So I actually didn't think that his reasons for me being a traitor were that great, and I don't think anyone else did either, because I didn't get a single vote besides him until the fourth roundtable. No one was convinced until Rob went around telling everyone to vote for me. And obviously Rob was more sure, because Rob knew for a fact that I was a traitor. Dylan had a suspicion. Boston Rob knew for a fact that I was a traitor, because he's a traitor.
You saw some people clocking that after you were banished. Wes said, “There's only one way you could be so sure.” Do you think Rob's strategy makes sense?
It made sense to get me out of the turret and the roundtable, because I was a very demanding and commanding presence. But I don't think it's a smart strategy for him, because immediately, before people even went to bed that night, they were already on to him. I don't personally think it was a smart strategy. What I would have done was pull me aside, because when I said “one of the three guys might be a traitor,” I wasn't talking about him. I was talking about Wes [Bergman] or Dylan [Efron]. Boston Rob was not on my radar to get out of the castle at that point in time. I was going to try to get him out eventually. I heard him say in interviews that he thought I was going to eventually get him out, which is true. I would have eventually, but not right away. I wouldn't have turned on another traitor so soon, because it doesn't look good for you, especially when you say something like, “If I'm wrong, you all can vote me out next week.” How is that not the biggest red flag for everyone at the table?
Were you completely taken by surprise when Rob started going after you? Or did you have any sense before that it was going to go that way?
I had no clue. I was out of the castle for a second. I was going through my own thing. My mom passed away two weeks before I did the show. I buried her the next week, and then the week after that, I went directly to The Traitors. I was having a lot of mental stuff going on, and I had to step out of bounds for a second just to collect myself. And that's when they were all scheming against me. I couldn't even defend myself. I didn't even know that was happening. So I had no clue. It was a very masterful blind side.
I was really surprised when Danielle Reyes voted for you. You've talked about how hurtful that was. What are your reflections on that now? Do you understand her rationale?
I understand Danielle's rationale. I also know that it is a game. We're great. We chat, we text, we talk on the phone. I cannot wait to see her at the reunion. I have no hard feelings toward anyone who played the game.
If the roles were reversed and it was Boston Rob going after Danielle: Do you think you would have voted for her?
I would have never done it in a million years.
Because she had your loyalty?
One, it was my loyalty. And two, not that many people were actually on to her. It was Jeremy, and he's gone. People at home are like, “She’s so obvious.” Go back and watch Wells’ and Dorinda’s exit interview. They had no clue. They were like, “The Oscar goes to Danielle.” You guys at home see everything. We can only see what we see from our point of view, right? So obviously, at home, you have way more information than we have. So that's why it's easier for you to play the game, because you already know who's in what position. I don't think people were actually onto Danielle. No one was bringing her up at the table. Danielle was safe. So I wouldn't have voted for her. I also wouldn't want her to go out knowing that I voted for her either.
You made such an iconic exit. Was that line, “I sweared to God... but I don’t believe in God,” ready to go?
I wasn't in my room writing down things to say. I'm very extemporaneous, and I'm clever and witty. So I never had to work too hard to come up with quick quippy lines. I never knew that Dylan Efron was going to mention his brother at the roundtable. I didn't have that in my back pocket, locked and loaded. But when I was at the roundtable, fighting for my life, I was like, “I'm going to try to appeal to the people here who have religious sensibilities and I'm going to say, ‘I swear to God.’” I remember as a kid, people would swear to God as their 11 o'clock speech. The last thing I have is I can swear to God. That's all I can do: swear to God. And that means nothing to me, because I don't believe in God. So I was like, I'll swear to God all day.
I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your mom and having to be filming during that quick time. Was there a part of you that was relieved to be banished so you can take a moment?
Maybe a little bit when I left the castle and was out of Scotland. But while I was there, I wanted to suit up and show up. Obviously, I had agreed to do The Traitors before my mom passed away, and by then, I was already on this trajectory. I had my outfits, I had cleared my schedule. I do wish I could have done it at a different time in my life, when I was more clear-headed going in there. But all things considered, I think I did a pretty good job. Honestly, I truly believe I handled my time in the castle really well.
I know The Traitors isjust one of the million things you do and I know you have a book, the novel Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert coming out. Can you just share a little bit about that?
Yes, I wrote a book! It's called Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert. It's a historical fiction piece. It's a bit absurd. Harriet Tubman has come back to life, and she's continuing her work as an abolitionist by writing a hip-hop album. She enlists the help of a very successful hip-hop writer who has retired from the business, but she's going to help him on his journey to freedom, while helping other people as well.
It's set in the current day. There's actually music in the audiobook. I've written some songs to go along with it. It's already been reviewed by Publishers Weekly. They gave it an officially starred review. They called it a knockout. I'm genuinely telling you: it is a very good book. I'm very proud of it. It's the kind of book I would read.
Photos courtesy of NBCUniversal/Peacock
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