Since we were first introduced to her on season nine of RuPaulโs Drag Race, we have had a sweet tooth for Peppermint. The multi-talented performer has appeared on stage and screen and has released two parts of her โLetters to My Loversโ musical trilogy. She has also faithfully recreated some of Janet Jacksonโs most iconic videos, including โRhythm Nationโ and โIf.โ
Peppermint returned to the reality world with her appearance in the Emmy Award-winning series The Traitors, currently streaming on Peacock. Pep was one of 21 reality stars, including cast members from The Challenge, Survivor, Big Brother, and The Real Housewives franchise. The new seasonโs premiere episode was the most-watched reality season debut on Peacock.ย ย
Set in a remote castle deep in the Scottish Highlands, five-time Emmy-nominated host (and national treasure) Alan Cumming welcomes these larger-than-life personalities as they come together to compete in a series of challenges with the objective of earning a cash prize of up to $250,000. In addition to challenges and missions, several contestants (dubbed โthe Traitorsโ) will devise a plan to steal the prize from the other contestants (โthe Faithfulโ) without revealing whoโs stabbing them in the back.
In the second episode of the series, Peppermint was banished (in other words, she had to sashay away) after falling victim to her cast matesโ victim of this groupโs mob mentality, in large part thanks to Trishelle Cannatella fromย The Real World: Las Vegasย andย The Challenge.
We had the chance to chat with Peppermint about her (far too brief) time on the show and whatโs next for her in our exclusive interview.ย
First of all, you hardly strike me as the deceptive type. How did you end up getting cast on this season of The Traitors? ย
I mean, itโs one of my favorite shows. I love murder mysteries and maybe thatโs where I went wrong. I didnโt necessarily go there to deceive, but I mean,ย I donโt really know whatโs fully involved in a show like The Traitors. I mean, I do now but I was under the impression as a viewer, itโs really easy to think that thereโs just three deceptive people who are the traitors and everyone else is honest and a faithful. Thatโs an easy mistake to make, I think.ย I also wasnโt sure to what degree the physical, the strength and the physicality when it goes into the missions and the other things. I mean, thereโs a mission on every episode and half of them are probably very physical. And the other ones that Iโve seen, at least from being a spectator, utilize musical skill and things like that. And so, I wasnโt sure to what degree someoneโs value would be shown through their ability to help with the missions.
Watching shows like Survivor and other shows, you know, when they are figuring out, oh, who are we going to vote off?ย It does come into consideration, even in that moment. Well, they are really good at challenges or missions and they do help with this. And so I was hoping that Iโd be around long enough to show my worth. And, you know, thereโs a lot that they had to show in the first couple of episodes, but I busted my behind in those missions and I wanted to show that I was a valuable person.
Clearly, I wasnโt and it may not have come across, you know, they might not even have thought about it. I donโt even know, but thatโs what I wanted to show. And I think I thought as long as Iโm showing that Iโm actually a faithful and that that can come across to the other people and that I can build connections and alliances with people so that we like each other and want to protect each other because they feel that Iโm not a traitor and Iโm not deceptive and they feel that Iโm in fact honest and Iโm good in the challenges and the missions, then I have a chance.ย It was a terrible method, obviously. If I had to tell, Iโd say go back and lie and cheat with everyone you can and just backstab and donโt do anything in the challenges.
Did your experience in reality TV prepare you for what you experienced on The Traitors?
I mean, I think in some ways it did, you know, but listen, thereโs like two things happening โ ย thereโs how well you can solve a math problem or how well you can do the mission. And then thereโs television.ย How good you look.ย Now my experience in reality prepared me in a way that I donโt think anybody else prepared by the experience that Iโve had in reality are different than the ones that most of the other people have.
And these are people who are reality show veterans. Many of them have been in reality for many years. Weโve watched them for decades, you know? And I was on a reality show once in terms of being like a contestant and things like that but I canโt say that youโre either prepared or youโre not. I wasnโt someone who just like sank the ship. I was targeted and attacked.ย
Were you into games like Clue and mysteries when you were growing up?
Of course! Oh my gosh, games, movies, all of the murder mystery games, which thereโs not a whole lot of and, of course, every murder mystery movie like Murder on the Orient Express, Clue, Death on the Nileโฆthereโs the newer ones, but thereโs just so many of them. Iโm a hundred percent into them. But in those, nobody gets like banished right away before they get to the house.
What was the hardest part of the challenges that you took part in?
The hardest part was communicating with everyone. The first challenge that I did, we were swimming in the water and moving puzzle pieces that exploded.
That second one, the whole mission was the superlatives, you know, the trivia, if you will. And then the scarecrows in the field, that was the hardest part. I mean, it was obviously difficult to run and carry the thing, but we had plenty of really strong folks on our team, even though I did my fair share of the carrying. There were lots of people. There were a couple of people on our team who were like, Iโm just going to carry this. It was like, we have three guys that were willing to do some carrying. And so, the hardest part of that entire mission was definitely the fields where we had to try to tear apart the scarecrows with our hands and look for gold and shields in their bowels.
Did you learn anything surprising about yourself during your time on The Traitors?
I learned that I can swim in the Loch Ness. You know, I wouldnโt usually go and swim in that kind of water. I donโt like to swim in water where I canโt see whatโs at the bottom. I was really afraid that I was not going to be able to perform the task. And I was also afraid that I wasnโt going to be able to contribute physically. I was worried that people would see me instantly judge me and be like, absolutely not this one, which ultimately when it ended up happening, but I was worried that ย they would say this person provides no value here in any way, shape or form socially or physically, they canโt. I was worried thatโs what they would judge me on, even though ย I donโt necessarily believe that to be true.
I wanted to prove to them through my actions that I was a worthwhile person who could contribute. Now, thereโs so many people, thereโs 21 of us there in the beginning, and so it probably got lost in the shuffle. Although, you know, I do think that people who were around me were able to see my value. I hope so. They were able to see my effort in trying to really do a good job. You know, I didnโt want to immediately run off and go and look for shields. I didnโt want to make any decisions that would look selfish or that people would think that I was lazy or not putting in my not pulling my own weight โ and I got plenty of weight to pull so I was really doing my best to pull it. And so much so that even in the first mission, I was helping untie as many people as I could, even, you know, some of the first people who got free.
If they asked you to come back and do it again, another season of The Traitors, would you want to do that?
Oh yeah, absolutely.
I just have one non-Traitors question, which is actually more of a request. For your next Janet Jackson video, please do โLove Would Never Do Without Youโ because I think you would look fantastic in that outfit.ย ย
Oh my gosh, you know what, that would be a really easy one to do, but the next video that Iโm going to be doing is โTogether Againโ. But maybe Iโll do a bonusโฆyou know what? Thatโs actually not a bad idea. Just like throw the outfit together because sheโs just on a desert and thatโs really easy to do. But I yeah, Iโm, Iโm looking forward to the rest of the year for sure, because Iโve got some really cool things coming up.
What else is upcoming for you?
Iโm releasing my third album this year, the third portion of the [Letters to My Lovers] trilogy, if you will, comes out this year. And so, please keep your eyes peeled for it.
Watch season two of The Traitors on Peacock. Follow Peppermint onย Instagram,ย Twitter,ย Facebookย andย YouTube.ย Help her make her โTogether Againโ video on GoFundMe, score some merch or book her on Cameo.
![Apple Watch Series 10 [GPS 42mm case] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminium Case with Black Sport Band - S/M. Fitness Tracker, ECG App, Always-On Retina Display, Water Resistant Jet Black Aluminium Case with Black Sport Band 42mm case + Small/Medium band GPS Without AppleCare+](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/6105jZyXyPL._AC_SL1500_._SL160_.jpg)
