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Bob the Drag Queen defends The Traitors eliminations amidst social media backlash
Bob the Drag Queen on 'The Traitors' season 3.
"To be honest I didn't know who ANY of these people were," the RuPaul's Drag Race superstar wrote.
Editor's note: this article contains spoilers for the first three episodes of The Traitors US season 3.
RuPaul's Drag Race winner and overall drag superstar Bob the Drag Queen has emerged as the queen of the castle, as evidenced by the first three episodes of The Traitors season 3 released last week on Peacock.
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However, as Bob previously experienced with the Drag Race fandom, this wider visibility can be a double-edged sword. In this first batch of episodes, the fabulous Alan Cumming chose Bob as one of the "Traitors" of the season alongside Danielle Reyes (Big Brother), Carolyn Wiger (Survivor), and "Boston Rob" a.k.a. Rob Mariano (Survivor).
As an official "Traitor," the Drag Race season 8 winner understood the assignment and started targeting The Real Housewives cast members. They were a very large and pretty loyal group of reality TV alumni, after all, which posed a big threat in the competition as the weeks went by and the total number of contestants was reduced — prompting the Housewives to gain a majority vote.
Bob's decision to target the Real Housewives is getting some backlash among The Traitors viewers who are also Housewives fans, but the drag legend isn't letting it slide... oh, at all!
Over the weekend, Bob took to social media not only to celebrate his "Traitors" status on the show, but also to clap back at the fans criticizing his choice to target Real Housewives stars Dorinda Medley and Chanel Ayan.
One upset X user, @K_Train35, wrote: "I will absolutely not be rooting for the traitors… how are you gonna kill Dorinda and Ayan who were both giving us all the entertainment, Bob knew they were gonna steal his screen time and he couldn't have that. I hope Dylan gets his ass."
Chanel Ayan responded, "It was all about this."
Bob subsequently re-shared an X post expressing a similar sentiment about this strategy on The Traitors.
Specifically, the Drag Race star used a painted-nails emoji in reaction to a fan accusing Bob of making the show "boring."
Another Traitors fan wrote on X, "There's something about the way you clap back and joke that gives such insane levels of millennial cringe. Like you might actually be one of the worst millennials in existence."
Bob responded, "I must say reading this poignant tweet from 'Jj7035545083605', my favorite anonymous Twitter profile, really put things into perspective for me. I think I'll go self reflect now."
Following the backlash, Bob directly addressed the Real Housewives fans who had been criticizing this game strategy.
"Do these Housewife fans think I'm scared? Honey, I survived Drag Race Twitter. At least DR fans tweet from their real profiles."
Bob also had the perfect response to an X user who tried to insult his music career and called him a "one-hit wonder."
After posting a screenshot of his latest EP, Gay Barz, as no. 1 on the Apple Music (formerly iTunes) charts, Bob challenged this X troll to "post yours."
"You think any fan of this show wants to see boring white men continue to not get eliminated. PLEASE," another Traitors fan wrote on X.
Bob replied, "I guess all of you forgot that I got Wells [Adams] eliminated at the first round table."
Bob also clapped back at X users who insisted that he targeted the Housewives in order to get screen time for himself.
"Listen, even if he didn't know who she was, eliminating Dorinda was pure nonsense," one Traitors fan wrote. "She was an obvious shield. He and Danielle are just so thrilled to have their 15 minutes of fame, they're running around like headless chickens doing whatever. No strategy, no common sense — just bad decisions. Frankly, it's disappointing."
Bob quipped back, "Somebody better call the man who's supposed to be watching the clock. My fifteen minutes was supposed to be up 9 years ago."
As Sunday evening came to a close, Bob shared a more general PSA to fans taking the Traitors gameplay too seriously.
"Before I go to bed... Y'all know we're not actually murdering people... right?"
And, in true "villain" fashion, Bob shared an X post including one of the most iconic moments in RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars herstory: Naomi Smalls saying "life's not fair" after she eliminated Manila Luzon in season 4.
"And I'd do it again!!!" Bob added.
New episodes of The Traitors season 3 are released every Thursday on Peacock.
This writer also has a podcast — independent of Out and equalpride — that can be followed here.
Taylor Henderson is a pop culture nerd. Lives for drama. Obsessed with Beyonce's womb. Tweets way too much.
Taylor Henderson is a pop culture nerd. Lives for drama. Obsessed with Beyonce's womb. Tweets way too much.
