Warning: this item includes The Traitors spoilers for Season 4 — read at your own risk!
Tiffany Mitchell never expected her name to dominate the roundtable during the fourth episode of The Traitors Season 4 — especially not from a theory she believed had no foundation. “I never thought it would gain any traction,” she tells Gold Derby (watch the video interview above). “I didn’t think there was any merit to it. Colton [Underwood] has been trying to lead the charge in many things in this house, and unfortunately, I was his target.”
What began as a head-to-head with Colton quickly turned once Eric Nam revealed that he was “99 percent sure” he recognized Tiffany’s “traitorous” laugh while he was tied to a tree and facing possible murder. Because Eric was known in the castle for being thoughtful, reserved, and precise with his words — and rarely spoke up at all — the accusation immediately carried weight, shifting the momentum against her in a way Tiffany knew she couldn’t overcome.
Below, Tiffany breaks down exactly how her banishment unfolded, why so many players — herself included — were wrong about the traitors, and what surprised her most about life inside the castle.
Gold Derby: Were you expecting Colton to come straight after you at the roundtable?
Tiffany Mitchell: No, not at all. I had a little birdie let me know right before that someone had mentioned my name, but I never thought it would gain any traction. I didn’t think there was any merit to it. Colton had been trying to lead the charge on a lot of things in the house, and unfortunately, I became his target. I just kept thinking, this is stupid. You’re barking up the wrong tree. There’s no base here for this.
Watching it back, it felt like you might be able to talk your way out of it — until Eric said he heard your laugh.
At first, it really felt like it was just Colton and me. I thought I still had room to turn the tide because he came out so strong right away. To me, it felt like he shot all his bullets too early, and I remember thinking he probably should’ve saved one in the chamber. I was starting to feel like I could poke holes in what he was saying.
Then Eric spoke up. When he said he had something to add and told the table, “I am 99 percent sure that I heard your laugh,” and then doubled down with, “I know your laugh,” everything shifted.
Why did that accusation carry so much weight in the room?
Because Eric doesn’t say a whole lot. And when he does speak, he’s very intelligent and very concise. He puts his thoughts together well. He’s not messy or dramatic. He doesn’t even give traitor energy — you definitely believe he’s faithful. So when he says something like that about you, it carries a lot of weight.
You got emotional at the roundtable talking about your family. How real was that moment?
I wasn’t even playing a game at that point. That was just me. I’m not a person who cries. I don’t like crying, and I don’t like when other people cry — especially in a game. Don’t bring your sympathy over here. I hate it.
But I started thinking about why I came there in the first place, and I realized, oh my God, this is it. I’m about to go home, and I haven’t even made it halfway through.
What was actually going through your head in that moment?
I was thinking about my son and having to go home and tell him. I was thinking about how people were looking at me, what they were thinking about me, and the things they were saying. I was hurt. My feelings were genuinely hurt, which surprised me. I wasn’t even a gamer at that point. That was just Tiffany.
You suspected Yam Yam Arocho, Michael Rapaport, and Ron Funches — and you weren’t alone in being wrong.
Dead wrong.
Yam Yam, in particular, raised red flags for you.
Everything about him reads guilty to me. His cologne is loud. His clothes are loud. He’s loud. His walk is loud. Everything about him is loud. So it just comes off as guilt to me. Why do you have to be seen so much?
What about Michael?
Michael is loud and obnoxious, but I grew up around loud and obnoxious, so I can deal with it. I don’t like it, but it doesn’t bother me. Strategically, Michael trusted me, and he was a bigger target than I was. I thought as long as Michael was there, they’d go after him before me. I was wrong again.
Losing Ian Terry and Rob Cesternino early really forced you to pivot.
I was pivoting every day. Nobody else had to change their game as much as I did. A lot of people already had their connections, and they weren’t the kinds of connections I’m used to as a gamer. Losing Ian and Rob so early made it hard, because suddenly Michael was the only person I felt I could really strategize with. Talking game to people who aren’t gamers is also challenging — they’re trying, but they don’t really get it.
When you finally learned the traitors were Lisa Rinna, Candiace Dillard Bassett, and Rob Rausch, what shocked you the most?
Candiace really threw me for a loop. I never would have suspected her. She could have taken me all the way to the end. We would’ve sat there together, thrown our stones in the fire, and she would’ve won — and I would’ve lost.