Peppermint is first trans woman to appear on The Traitors: ‘I want to make the community proud’
Peppermint is the first Black trans woman to appear on The Traitors. (Dia Dipasupil/Getty)
The Traitors US is set to return to screens for season two on Friday (12 January), and for RuPaul’s Drag Race fans, the show will play host to a familiar face in the form of trans icon Peppermint.
Peppermint, who competed in the ninth series of Drag Race, is set to join the new series of The Traitors US alongside several reality TV stars, including stars of the Real Housewives franchise, pro boxer Deontay Wilder, and basketball player Marcus Jordan, all of whom will be battling it out for a $250,000 (£195,755) prize.
So who is Peppermint, and what has she been in before?
Peppermint is a drag icon and proud trans woman
Peppermint made her name after placing second in series nine of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Her time of the series was groundbreaking, marking the first time a trans contestant who had come out as trans before entering the show entered the workroom (several Drag Race contestants had come out as trans either during or after filming).
After appearing on Drag Race, Peppermint was cast in the Broadway production of Head Over Heels in 2018, becoming the first out trans woman to originate a lead role on Broadway.
Since then, she has taken on a number of acting and entertainment roles, appearing in the film Fire Island, as well as Pose and Saturday Night Live.
Peppermint came out as trans publicly in 2016 on an episode of The Daily Show, where she was featured alongside several other trans activists talking about the transgender bathroom ban laws that have continued to sweep America.
Peppermint is the first Black trans woman to appear on The Traitors US
In an interview with Parade ahead of the show airing, Peppermint explained that not only is she a huge fan of The Traitors, but she also wanted to compete on the show to represent the trans community.
“It’s not lost on me that in addition to me being the only Black trans woman in this house, that this might be the first time a Black trans woman has gone into the houses of the viewers of this show, and that’s important to me to make an impression, whether I’m a Traitor or not,” she told the outlet.
She added that she feels like an “underdog” in the show, but “that goes reflect my experiences and the experiences of many people in the LGBTQ+ community outside in the real world.”
Peppermint added that she was drawn to the show because she “loves murder mysteries” and horror, “feverishly” searching for episodes when The Traitors first aired.
In a post on Instagram, she explained: “Given how many attacks there are on the LGBTQ+ community it’s important for me to let people see a transgender person in action before they make the decision on whether it should be legal or not for us to go to the bathroom, or be on a sports team, or get healthcare.
“I understand this is a big platform so I want to make the community proud.”
The Traitors US will return on Friday (12 January), and each episode will be available to watch in the UK on BBC iPlayer a day after its original airing.
