Overview
- In the Jan. 15 episode’s roundtable, Rapaport told Underwood, “Nobody in this room would be better at holding a secret than you,” during a heated exchange.
- Underwood responded by invoking the difficulty of hiding his identity, as castmates including Johnny Weir and Maura Higgins denounced the remark as a “very low blow.”
- Multiple players indicated the comment influenced their voting choices that night, reflecting how conduct and values shaped in-game decisions.
- Viewers and media outlets criticized the moment as homophobic, fueling broad social backlash across platforms.
- Rapaport apologized on-camera and online, said he was referring to gameplay rather than sexuality, and told TMZ he later had a respectful conversation with Underwood.