Celebrity Traitors Host Ed Gamble Addresses Unconscious Racial Bias Claims After Myha’la Exit
Ed Gamble, host of the Traitors and Celebrity Traitors aftershow Uncloaked, has addressed ongoing discussions regarding unconscious racial and cultural bias on the programme, following the early exit of actor Myha’la from the celebrity edition.
Ed Gamble Responds to Bias Claims in New Interview
Speaking in a recent interview with The Guardian, Gamble addressed viewer concerns that have shadowed the reality competition since its UK debut in 2022, where minority players have frequently faced heightened suspicion from fellow contestants. When asked about the discussion surrounding the show, Gamble stated that he would not counteract anyone’s lived experience, noting that while Myha’la pointed to a playful wink at Richard E Grant as her own undoing in the game, the broader issue of bias remains valid and requires examination. “It’s something that needs to be discussed and looked at,” Gamble told the publication.
Myha’la Defends Fellow Contestants Following Banishing
Myha’la was eliminated early in the run of Celebrity Traitors, prompting a viewer to suggest on social media that her banishment stemmed from racism. In her public statement addressing the exit, Myha’la defended her fellow cast members against accusations of conscious prejudice, writing that they “in no way consciously put bias on me because of my race.” At the same time, she acknowledged that unconscious bias does surface in social deduction games where players rely heavily on gut instincts. “That early in the game there is VERY little to grasp on to, and I gave them… a lot,” Myha’la wrote, adding that her expression and communication styles can appear suspicious to people unfamiliar with her background. She further noted: That’s not a fair or complete assessment of what really happened in my case.
She added: And! I do think games like this should allow more conversation around unconscious bias and how, when under pressure, people (society) gravitate towards things they know and understand or subsequently push away from things they don’t.
When another fan wrote that she was It’s all love, and I REALLY genuinely appreciate your support.
exhausted
watching the suspicion cast towards Black players on shows like The Traitors, Myha’la replied: I totally agree! It is exhausting, and we have every right to be tired of it. Sending love to you.
Non-White Participants Face Higher Risk in Reality Formats
The conversation surrounding reality television mechanics extends well beyond the BBC competition. A reported analysis from The Guardian highlighted parallel trends in other high-profile entertainment formats, noting that non-white participants on Strictly Come Dancing faced a 71 percent higher likelihood of landing in the bottom two. Addressing the underlying social mechanics earlier this year in The Independent, journalist Micha Frazer-Carroll argued that players do not practice conscious discrimination, but rather bring inherited social judgments into a format that asks them to evaluate abstract qualities like trustworthiness based purely on superficial impressions. She noted that internalised biases will inform group consensus on who is ‘shifty’ or ‘just a bit off’.