"The World Sees Me as a Traitor": Rhea Chakraborty Opens Up About Public Scrutiny on Reality Show
Actor Rhea Chakraborty, currently a contestant on the second season of the reality series The Traitors, has candidly addressed the lingering impact of the intense public scrutiny she faced following the 2020 death of Sushant Singh Rajput. In a vulnerable moment on the show, the actor revealed why she explicitly sought to avoid the role of a "traitor" within the game’s format.
Refusing the "Traitor" Label
During the fifth episode of the show, co-contestant Shweta Tiwari questioned why Rhea was so hesitant to take on the villainous mantle of a traitor. Rhea explained that the title held a painful personal resonance that she was not willing to relive for entertainment.
"I don’t want to be the traitor. The reason is that the world already sees me as a traitor," Rhea stated. "It is coming from my personal life journey. So, I don’t want to come on a show and willingly ‘murder’ here. This will be very bad for me. People will make dirty memes out of it."
A Life Under Siege
Rhea’s time on the show has become a platform for her to address the years of relentless media attention and online abuse that followed the tragic passing of Sushant Singh Rajput. Following the incident in June 2020, Rhea and her brother faced significant legal challenges and were arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in connection with a drug case. After years of public speculation, the CBI recently submitted a closure report regarding the investigation into Rajput’s death.
Reflecting on her reputation, the actor claimed she remains the most trolled person in the country, noting that she refuses to follow the herd mentality often found in competitive reality television.
"I have been under the doubt for a long time, and I don’t like that feeling," she noted during an earlier conversation with host Karan Johar. "I only recently received a clean chit. People have finally realised that I am innocent, and I’ve had enough of being under suspicion."
Navigating the Game
Despite the emotional weight of her past, Rhea continues to compete on the show, asserting that she is not easily influenced by others. While she has survived to see another round, the game remains intense. In the most recent elimination, Parul Gulati was evicted, leaving Krystle D’Souza and Shahneel Gill as the active traitors in the group. Harman Singha, who previously held the title of a traitor, was successfully identified and caught in the third episode.
As Rhea moves forward in her career and navigates the challenges of reality television, her participation serves as a poignant reminder of the human cost of high-profile media trials and the difficulty of escaping labels forged in the court of public opinion.
