Rhea Chakraborty has opened up about her personal struggles while appearing on The Traitors Season 2. The actor, who has faced intense public attention since the death of her former boyfriend Sushant Singh Rajput in 2020, spoke about why she did not want to take on the role of a traitor on the reality show. Her emotional explanation came during the fifth episode after Shweta Tiwari asked her to explain why she was not a traitor.
Rhea said, “I don’t want to be the traitor. The reason is that the world already sees me as a traitor. Do you understand? 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.” Her statement reflected how strongly her past experiences continue to affect the way she approaches public attention.
She went on to explain that she has already faced a huge amount of criticism online. Rhea said, “I am the most trolled person in the country. You all know what that means? I am not the traitor, all of you are making a big mistake. This is a distraction from the one who is a traitor. One thing about me is that I don’t go with the herd and I am not easily influenced. But my personality is such that I can influence people.”
Rhea managed to survive the episode, while Parul Gulati was ultimately eliminated from the competition. The remaining traitors are Kullu, Krystle D’Souza and Shahneel Gill. Harman Singha was previously revealed as a traitor but was caught during the third episode.
Rhea had spoken about the same subject earlier in the season when host Karan Johar asked whether she wanted to be an innocent contestant or a traitor. She replied, “I want to be an innocent. Iss saal hi actually mujhe clean chit mila hain, iss saal hi logo ko pata chala hai ki mai innocent hoon. Bohot der tak shaq mein rahi hoon toh woh itna pasand nahi hai ab mujhe. Kaafi saal kar liya hai maine (I have got the clean chit this year itself. People have realised that I am an innocent. I have been under the doubt for a long time, and I don’t like that feeling. I have been there for years).”
Rhea and her brother Showik Chakraborty were arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau in a drug case connected to the investigation surrounding Sushant’s death. The Central Bureau of Investigation later filed a closure report in the death case, reportedly clearing Rhea of charges. She has previously spoken about the emotional impact of the controversy and said the experience affected her mental health.
Meanwhile, The Traitors Season 2 continues to bring secret plans, suspicion and changing friendships. The new season premiered on Prime Video in India on August 13, with new episodes releasing every Thursday. The celebrity cast includes Kullu, Abhishek Malhan, Ansh Chopra, Dalip Tahil, Ikka Singh, Karan Singh Magic, Krystle D’Souza, Mallika Sherawat, Munawar Faruqui, Shweta Tiwari, Shahneel Gill, Shalini Passi, Ranveer Brar and several others competing for the title and a major cash prize.