The Traitors fans thought this contestant was gay, but now his wife is setting the record straight
‘The Traitors’ is a game of deception that’s known for its shocking twists, and yet no one saw this one coming…
Mark
The Traitors is a game of deception that’s known for its shocking twists, and yet no one saw this one coming…
In its current, non-celebrity New Blood iteration, the reality competition series about sniffing out the secret Traitors among a group of Faithfuls has proven it’s just as fun to watch “normies” stab each other’s backs as it is famous people.
How about we take this to the next level?
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It’s a really exciting cast, and the four episodes that have aired so far have done a great job of letting us get to know them as individuals and within the group dynamic, even as they’re getting picked off, one by one.
Of course, we’ve got a soft spot for an alliance that’s dubbed themselves “The Dolls,” a classic “girl & her gays” group that includes Louisiana nurse Abbey B. (a mama bear ally who’s here to disprove your stereotypes about Southern blonde women), South Carolina drama teacher Clyde Moser, Texas barrel racer Ben McDonnell, and New York lawyer Michael Foote.
As the game heats up, they’ve been a blast to root for—Alan Cumming calling Ben & Michael his “gay Lara Crofts” during a tomb-raiding challenge has been a highlight of the season—though we’re already starting to see some cracks in these Dolls, particularly as Michael demonstrates why he might be too smart for his own good, putting a target on his back.
So are there other LGBTQ+ folks in the castle?
Many queer viewers assumed Oklahoma physician Jay Vinnedge was part of the community thanks to his fondness for loud colors and even louder gameplay, not to mention a confessional interview where he made the promise to “unapologetically” be himself in the castle.
And while some of his antics have rubbed others the wrong way, we couldn’t help but think: You go right ahead and slay, Jay!—at least he was bringing his full, authentic self to the competition with pride.
But then, in Episode 4,The Traitors: New Blood unveiled what might be the biggest surprise of this young season: During a challenge that required the group to solve a series of puzzles in order to outrun the so-called “death parade,” Jay offered the followign anecdote:
“I do parades,” he said, making us all wonder if said parades were in June, before adding: “I was in high school band where I met my wife—where I was playing my trumpet, and she was playing her bass clarinet. This is a very different parade than that.”
Excuse us, wife?! Viewers at home were sufficiently gagged.
Well, in the days since the episode aired, the reveal caused enough chatter online that Jay’s wife Danielle decided to weigh in, setting the record straight. Literally.
“The internet is really concerned for me that I have a gay husband, so I’m here to explain myself,” she said in a video posted to her TikTok account, @daniellevinnedge. “As I was scrolling my own FYP this morning, I saw a bunch of reaction videos like this, like, that was the most insane part of last night’s episode.”
“I’m not dumb, girls,” Danielle added bluntly, “I know how this appears, okay? But I need you guys to stop talking to me like I’m a f*cking idiot, okay? But let’s just recap a few things…”
She goes on to explain that the two of them have been together since 2007, when “the f-slur was just thrown around like candy,” so this is far from the first time either of them have heard this. It was then—just as it is now—”problematic,” and not because being called gay is an insult. In fact, Danielle calls it a compliment, and goes on to highlight that both she & Jay have many gay people in their lives.
@daniellevinnedge Okay so you think my husband is gay? At least he isn’t boring like your husband ???? #thetraitorsus #thetraitors #greenscreen #greenscreenvideo @Jay Vinnedge, MD ♬ original sound – Danielle
“It’s like, to be a straight guy these days, you have to be this uber toxic-masculinity meathead, who doesn’t have a sense of theatricality or anything. And then to be gay you just have to be the most effeminate person on the planet, when really people exist on a spectrum of all of those things,” she continued. “There can be very masculine-presenting gay guys, there can be very gay appearing straight guys, and also this isn’t even taking into account bisexuality, okay? You’re forgetting about these people!”
And you know what? She makes some pretty fantastic points there! We like to think the world has come a long way in terms of gay representation, and yet we’re all—gays included—guilty of stereotyping people and putting them into boxes because of assumptions about who they are.
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“He’s constantly making comments that feel just flirty enough to make it seem like he’s interested, like telling me how nice I look or pointing out how good-looking other guys are and things. Once he randomly texted me a gym photo “showing off his progress.” Another time he sent me a bathroom mirror selfie.”
“Is it my fault that maybe my type is on the spectrum of Stanley Tucci—who also has a wife of 14 years, might I remind you? Just like me & Jay, married for 14 years,” Danielle hammered home. “So, can my man twirl, can he sing, can he do back-tucks, did he teach me how to do my own eyeliner when I was in high school? Yeah… But if Jay wanted to be gay, he would just be gay. It’s 2026… he’s just a sassy guy!”
He sure is! And, sure, maybe his brand of chaos is a bit hard to watch (even if it is by design), but we’re starting to think having more of Jay on our screens is a good thing: We clearly all needed a reminder to check ourselves when it comes to gender norms, because its not so black-and-white.
Some people are just born Jay, and that’s okay!
In response, Jay took to Instagram to teach the world about the things “straight men can do,” using it as an opportunity to talk about the masculinity crisis our society’s going through right now. It’s all very well put, so do yourself a favor and check it out.
And yes, Jay does clarify once & for all that he is, indeed, straight. Not that he needed to though: that Ted Lasso voice candle he’s holding was a dead giveaway.
You can normally catch Jay, The Dolls, and the rest of The Traitors: New Blood cast Thursdays on NBC, and streaming the next day via Peacock, though head’s up that there’s no new episode this week on 10.1
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Alan Cumming on being mislabeled as gay & the queerness of ‘Traitors’: “I really did push to have better representation”
Alan Cumming tried to make ‘Traitors’ as queer as possible.
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