Traitors - Black Contestants - WARNING, SPOILERS! (Title edited by MNHQ)

[Jimpson]

SPOILER ALERT!!!

Time and time again black contestants are voted out early doors on reality show. The latest series of the traitors has been on for 2 days and 2 black women have already gone. I even checked the statistics with AI:

Black contestants are statistically eliminated earlier in some reality shows, particularly Survivorand Big Brother, a pattern that has been documented in studies and fan analyses, often attributed to systemic bias or strategic targeting, with discussions on the topic growing as diverse casting increases. While some instances involve clear gameplay, many viewers and players observe a recurring trend where Black individuals, especially women, are targeted in the early stages, leading to deep discussions about racism, privilege, and gameplay within these shows.

Isn’t it about time that protections were put in place on these shows, to make it a fair for all?

And in I’m a Celebrity. IIRC, not one black or Asian woman has ever made it to the final 3. Not once. Closest is Fatima Whitbread (Turkish/Greek heritage).

Like who?

Let’s also remember, if further proof is needed that Joe Swash beat Perri from Diversity in Dancing On Ice.

I loved how calmly and assertively she dealt with him in the kitchen- decades of experience in handling tricky dynamics right there. Literally saw his bluster evaporate and testes ascend which sadly put her firmly in his sights.

🥱 🥱

You don't have to think back very far to find ethnic minority contestants repeatedly in the dance off.

Are we keeping you up?

Straight white men targeting an older woman of colour! Definitely seems racist to me and annoying that it seems to be repeating on several shows.
Im worried they'll go after her daughter next, especially Sam and Hugo, both irritated me watching it

You saw it happen on the celeb version as well when poor Niko ended up being the first to be voted out

If you look at who's been in the most dance offs there's a very obvious pattern of talented women of colour who the audience 'just hasn't taken to' - Balvinder Sopal, Molly Rainford, Jamelia, Fleur East.

Yes, agree. It felt like again the “trust the people most like me” thing is coming into play. Every time there’s this reason and that reason, but statistically it so often ends up the same. So disappointing.

And Alexandra Burke

I remember I watched one series of Love Island and there was a beautiful black girl on it, who no one chose to be with, ever, until a black guy came in and chose her. I felt very sorry for her.

Perhaps it’s an example of sheep-like people blindly following a bloke who is so convinced in his own message, superiority and intelligence, that anyone disagreeing with him is an enemy that must be eliminated. They’d rather be with him than against him and risk his animosity. As long as they’re not the target, they will go along with what he wants. History is full of them. I’ll be interested to know how this Sam fellow manages to style out his mistake. No doubt he’ll DARVO Judy for not acting correctly.

Alexandra Burke is incredible. Her version of Hallelujah makes me cry. She should be a household name, and I’ve always thought she was shortchanged.

Agreed. I think it’s partly racial in the sense of her being a more likely target. And partly racial in the sense that there’s often some confident white man/men who people fall in behind (Sam, in this case), when other people are less likely to ever be seen as, or allowed to be, “leader of the pack”.

Well that would be unfair wouldn’t it? What’s the point of voting if things are going to be weighed heavily towards the black contestants staying on the show. The last few series of Love Island have seen black contestants in the finals, so I think it is a case of over thinking, and it’s not nearly as prevalent as you think it is….

Yes and then Tameka was next I think, based on nothing.

Would that not be the same of any country where the population is 83% insert colour? Don’t people inherently gravitate towards what they know?

I think it boils down to the U.K. population is more white than black or Asian or Chinese.

People vote for those they like and those like them.

So if they don’t know you from a show and like you it then boils down to are you like me and good. Yes? Get my vote. No. Off you go.

Tribal stuff.

I haven’t watched live tv in years but I saw news paper articles this year claiming I’m a celeb was racist because the toe first people where voted off where black. I’ve no idea who they are tho. I only knew one or two and if I was a voting person I’d vote for those I knew.

Some reality shows - this may be true. But not all. See winners of Irish Traitors - 3 women - 2 of them black. So good to see 3 women who were all faithfuls win!

https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2025/1115/1543593-traitors-winner-the-girls-overall-got-mad-scrutiny/

Doesn’t surprise me it’s different in Ireland.

There’s no line because they’re two completely different things. Unconscious bias doesn’t tip the game in favour of people of colour, it simply makes people more aware of their own underlying prejudice, so that when they’re about to accuse someone based on what they think is ‘gut instinct’ or ‘a bad feeling about someone’ they question their motives first.

I actually think the BBC are irresponsible for not putting this in place already. It’s such a big show and this is a clear, ongoing pattern that has been noted widely. Unconscious bias training isn’t a new fangled concept either, almost every big company has their employees undertake it.

I’m going to say (without double checking on wiki) that the first person voted out on every UK series of the Traitors has been a POC. I was cringing tonight watching it happen again,
However the effect doesn’t seem to be sustained through the series, and generally POC are not systematically removed one by one, and there are POC in the final.
I have no idea why that might be, and I know there are various societal theories about the amount of POC tolerated by white people before we start to feel threatened, but I dont know enough to know if it is in play.
I do believe the secret traitor must be of colour, as I just don’t think they would choose 4 white traitors. I would also be thinking that if I were Hugo/Stephen/Rachel, so I do expect them to look at black/asian women as suspects.
I don’t think it would have been too bad if Claudia had said “oh, another black woman/person voted out first who was a faithful” like she did make a similar comment about the traitors only choosing men in one series. Might make them think.

It does make you wonder as a white person if you would be doing it too (and Tbf it wasn’t everyone and the first and second people to mention Judy’s name were Nettie and Ross). You’d hope and pray not and yet they keep on don’t they. Something to reflect on.

I dare say its some sort of unconscious bias rather than overt racism, the majority of the population are white, and possibly vote off the black contestant because they don't relate to them on some deeper level.

What would be interesting is whether the reverse would be true in a situation of similar contests where a few contestants are white but the majority of the voting viewers are not, and whether the minority again gets voted off first.

Human beings are innately tribal, however we attempt to present ourselves as not being so - that's why we fight each other all the time.