How Monét X Change Figured Out Lisa Rinna on Traitors: "I'll Be a Housewife Hunter"
Monét was murdered after getting too close — and too honest — with a Traitor.
SPOILER WARNING: This story reveals major plot points from Episodes 1-5 of The Traitors Season 4.
Over the four seasons of Peacock's The Traitors, there have been three drag queen players — Peppermint (Season 2), Bob the Drag Queen (Season 3), and this season's Monét X Change.
Each played a unique game but after the castle introductions, Monét threw off her own wig and became a force in the game, helping to win challenges and coming up with clever ways to try and get the Traitors to tell on themselves. Unfortunately, they whispered Lisa Rinna's name to Candiace Dillard Bassett as a potential Traitor, the trio used it as their reason to "Murder" Monét right out of the game.
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Of course, it was far too early in Monet's mind to pack their bags, so we asked about when they first sniffed out Lisa as a Traitor, their one regret in the game, and who they want to see take The Traitors crown in the end.
Peacock Blog: When you came into the game, did you want to be a Faithful or a Traitor?
Monét X Change: I wanted to be the [most] treacherous Traitor that ever existed. I wanted to lie, cheat, steal, deceive. I wanted to be that girl. When Alan didn't choose me, the first night, I was like, ‘Okay. I'll let it slide, Alan.’ When it got to the first night, and after the Roundtable and I still wasn't a Traitor, I was like, ‘Who do I have to kill to be a Traitor? I was like, ‘Do I have to hold Lala hostage? How do I get my treacherous green cloak?’
Not Lala!
If it means I were a Traitor, Lala's gone.
What was your strategy heading into the castle once you found out you were a Faithful?
When that was what I was dealt, what I wanted to do was just find four or five people that I could trust, right? And trust not necessarily them being Faithfuls, but even if they were Traitors, let them know, like, ‘I don't know what you are, but I trust you…’ I thought it was working until it didn't.
Were you shocked when you found out Candiace was a Traitor too?
I was shocked. I was like, ‘I cannot believe that Candiace betrayed me,' because it was after Porsha's banishment and the way that she reacted, it seemed to me that she was a Faithful because her and I were really beat up. We were really tore up about Porsha's elimination. We went to the bar. She's like, 'I knew she was a Faithful,' so kudos to her for playing a good game because I really believed that. Then I made that vow with her that I wanna go with her to the end regardless of what she is and vice versa, and I will always protect her in the turret or the Roundtable. And she vowed to me as well. But as Traitors do, they be lying.
She lied to me which is why, going forward as a fan of the show and when Alan asks me back, I will be a housewife hunter. I don't care if the housewife is Jesus. They are going home. They're getting Banished. They're getting Murdered. They have proven time and time again that they're not trustworthy. The only trustworthy housewife that has ever been on the show was Phaedra Parks. So, unless it's gonna be Phaedra Parks, I ain't trusting nobody. Period.
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What tipped you off to Lisa Rinna being a Traitor?
I'm a Housewife fan, but only Atlanta Housewives. I love Porsha Williams, because I've watched Housewives of Atlanta from Season 1 to the current season. Anyway, so I love Porsha and I was excited to be with her, but I never watched Beverly Hills. Now, I've seen bits of Lisa online because she exists on social media, but I didn't know how crazy Lisa was and people were filling me in [inside] the castle that she broke a wine glass and was gonna slice somebody open because they talked about her husband. I was like, ‘Oh, this b***h is a Traitor. She has to go!’
And then after the murder in plain sight when they had to kill Caroline, I came up with a brilliant idea to quiz them to see who was lying and what stories were inconsistent. [Lisa] was just doing too much. Like, you can tell Ron was just answering the questions because it just happened and he didn't have to think about what would line up. He was just speaking and Lisa was being so lugubrious and really thinking about her responses and that ticked me off. I don't remember who was sitting next to me, but I remember the person next to me, we both gave each other eyes like, ‘This is weird, right?’ So that's when I started thinking that Lisa was probably a Traitor.
She lied to me which is why, going forward as a fan of the show and when Alan asks me back, I will be a housewife hunter. I don't care if the housewife is Jesus.”
Did you get advice from Bob the Drag Queen?
Let me tell you something right now, Bob the Drag Queen tried to give me some advice when I was going to the show and I said, ‘No. I don't want advice from you. You're a loser. You lost. I'm not gonna take advice from you.’ I’m now a loser myself, but going to the castle I wanted to play my own game. I didn't wanna play a game like Bob because I'm not Bob. Bob is loud, boisterous, [and] does the most. That's his thing and that's not how I play the game.
I'm a big fan of these shows. I've been watching The Traitors since Season 1, Episode 1 when they had the gall to mix civilians and celebrities together. I'm a big fan of the show and I wanted to play the game how I felt would work for me.
Who are you rooting for now that you're out of the game?
I'm rooting for Natalie. I love Natalie so much. I think she's so smart. She's so strong. She's a great Faithful. I’m rooting for Natalie really hard. I want Natalie to snatch all those gold coins out of Alan's purse and bring The Traitors crown home.
What would your last words have been at Roundtable?
Can I tell you, the most gut-wrenching part about being Murdered is that you don't get to fight of your life. At least when you get Banished, like, Tiffany, she let Colton have it. You don't get that last, like, 'You're making a mistake!'"
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And I think for me, at that point, Mike [Rappaport] would not have gone, and from Episode 2, from the first Roundtable, I was telling everyone, ‘Y’all, he has to go.’ I was campaigning to everyone that would listen. I even said to Michael, ‘You have to go. You are bad, and you keep on distracting us. I don't care if you're a Faithful or a Traitor. I don't care if you're the host. You have to go.’ So, my message would've been to get rid of Michael, but they did. I think my ghost was whispering to their ears to get rid of him because literally, as soon as I was going down, I was like, ‘Okay, Michael has to go too.’ So, I'm happy that the energy of my ectoplasm got them to make a good decision to Mike go home.
We can’t wait for your reunion episode look.
Oh, let me tell you something because Miss Lisa Rinna, the next morning, everyone is eulogizing me and saying I'm the best dressed in the house, she said, 'One of the best.' Lisa Rinna, let me tell you right now, I can't wait to see her. You're pulling up to the reunion because I know how I'm pulling up, and we'll let the audience decide who is the best dressed in the house. Miss Lisa Rinna, let's see what the audience says.
News episodes of The Traitors Season 4 air Thursdays exclusively on Peacock.
Reporting by Stephanie Gomulka.
