I’m dialing into my interview with Candiace Dillard Bassett from an airport between flights. With the chaos that can happen inside a terminal, it feels like the perfect setting to talk about her season on The Traitors.
“This is the first time I’m watching The Traitors,” I exclaimed, confessing that I turned in to watch her season and became an instant fan.
She laughed. “Welcome to the madness.”
(Warning, spoilers ahead!)
Since Bassett’s explosive banishment last week, viewers have been going at it over whether Rob Rausch’s betrayal of her, a fellow traitor, was ghoulish gaslighting or good gameplay. Reality TV loves drama, and often wants to see a Black woman lose her cool, Baddies-style. Bassett’s reaction — which didn’t involve throwing Rob on an active tarmac — is one she stands behind.
“I knew that I wanted to keep my cool, and I knew that there was no part of me that was interested in yelling or giving him that kind of moment,” she explained.
Yes, Bassett opted for restraint over a table turn. “At the end of the day, I needed to be able to go to sleep at night and feel good about the choices that I make.”
She’s already onto other projects in her waking hours. She’s returning to Dennis Williams’ musical I Cried the Blues, starting May 2 at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut. She’s also bringing her new music on the road.
Bassett talks more about resisting the bait, trolling with intention, and why her new single “If Only” might just be her reunion soundtrack.
EBONY: You’ve entered and left the castle, and everyone’s still talking about it. In a sentence or two, how do you sum up the experience?
I would say it’s one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had. I never thought that I would do something like this. And the fact that I was able to conquer so many things, I’m eternally grateful for the entire experience. I wouldn’t change anything.
There’s been a lot of conversation online about Rob—some viewers felt what happened at the roundtable crossed into gaslighting territory. In real time, how did it feel?
With anything, when you’re in the thick of it, you can’t see the full scope of the situation, right? So I was, I was just, like, dealing with what was right, with what was right in front of me. And then, of course, when you get out of the castle, and you go home, and you have time to process, and when you watch it all happen, you can get more of an understanding of all the different moving parts.
For me, I saw [Rob] was really being a traitor — as I have said, not a trainer, but a snake. That was interesting to watch back, and it was also affirming for me because I knew I wanted to keep my cool. I’m really proud of myself for just maintaining a cool head, especially now knowing that he was trying to rile me up.
What has the public’s support meant to you?
It means the absolute world to me. I’ve always had a solid village around me since my time on The Real Housewives of Potomac, but there have also always been my detractors, my naysayers. But I do feel the immense public support and the number of people who’ve said to me, “I started watching this show because I wanted to see you on it.” I love that I’m helping bring people into this magical, crazy world of traders.
Now that you’ve had distance and watched the season back, was it gameplay—or did it feel personal?
In the moment, I think I was just so focused on staying the course and not allowing anything on the outside to throw me off my game. But when I got home, I did have a minute where I was like, “Damn, like, he really stabbed [fellow traitor Lisa Rinna] and me in the back.” And it did grab me for a minute, but then I got over it.
At the end of the day, I don’t regret any of my choices. I would not have done anything differently, so it doesn’t serve me to be upset about it. I’m excited to get to the reunion and just have one last hurrah and hash it out with everybody—but of course, with my dearest Rob.
You’ve said you’re proud of how you represented Black women on the show. Why was taking the high road so important to you?
There is a financial prize at the end of the game that would’ve been great. I have a child. I need to be preparing for college yesterday. So it’s always a blessing when you can compete for a pot of money. But at the end of the day, I am so proud of how I played the game and that I did so without compromising who I am as a person and as a woman.
I’m proud to have represented Black women. I’m proud of the other Black women who represented us well on the show. And I’m excited to get back with my girls and just rehash, fellowship, love on each other, and celebrate each other, because we all did our thing. I was proud of all of us.
The reunion show is coming up, and you’ve been trained how to handle one on Housewives. Are you going in with a plan?
I don’t ever rehearse anything. I like to get in the moment, because I don’t know what Rob’s gonna say. He could get in there and have a whole soliloquy or another State of the Union address, as I said on the show. I wanna remain true to the moment. That has almost always served me in these public reality television, unscripted spaces. I have a gist of what I’m going to say, but I will certainly wait until I get there and tailor my exact thoughts to the energy in the room.
You could just play your new single at the reunion. Tell me about “If Only.”
Oh my gosh. “If Only” is my latest single; it’s available on all streaming platforms and wherever you get your music. I wrote most of the music that you will hear from this new project while I was pregnant. Very early in my pregnancy, we were in the studio, and I was writing and recording this project. So, I do think that I was in a very raw, emotional and honest space. And that is reflected in this music. The first line of “If Only” is, “I know you, you effing with these bitches, I ain’t crazy.” So, we’re coming out of the gates, letting the people know. It is an overt message to those who need to receive it.
How do you want people to receive the song?
I’m just excited for people to go on this new journey with me. It’s 100% me, and I’m honestly, openly proud of it.
Where can we see you next?
I’m getting on board with my sister, Tamar Braxton. I’ll be doing a few tour dates with her this summer. And I’ll be singing my new music as well. And I’m reprising my role in my first stage play. Um, I played Miss Lily in I’ve Cried the Blues, and the show is going on tour. Darryl Walls and I are the special guests. And Darrell is now a GRAMMY award-winning artist, so I’m really proud and over the moon for him. Undomesticated is streaming wherever you get your podcasts with Michael Arsenault and me, so we’ll be continuing to give you all the mess and talk about what’s happening around the kitchen table and in the group chats. And in between all that, I’ll be mom-ing.
How is your son Jett doing?
I was just FaceTiming him, and he’s obsessed now with Bluey and Miss Rachel. So all we talked about was R-achel, Achel, Achel. He is a trip. He’s talking like he’s about to go to college tomorrow. It’s insane.
The Traitors continues its fourth season on Thursdays on Peacock.