James Acaster has revealed he is too frightened to search for himself online following his dramatic appearance on The Celebrity Traitors, which made him one of the most talked-about contestants in the BBC show's second series.
The comedian made the unprecedented decision to reveal he was a Traitor at the round table, a move that led some viewers to brand him a "villain." Speaking on the Table Manners podcast with Jessie Ware and her mother Lennie, Acaster was asked how he was coping with the attention after becoming something of a heartthrob.
Too Scared to Look
Acaster, 41, said: "I'm not on social media, I genuinely don't look at it. With a show as big as Traitors, I'm too scared to Google myself or look at the press. So I genuinely haven't seen any of it."
He explained that he only becomes aware of certain stories when they are significant enough for his agent to bring them to his attention. The Off Menu star said: "So it's weird really, because I have a bit of a disconnected thing from it. So I'm not really... I know that those things have been talked about and gone on, but I don't know how massive they are."
Standing by His Actions
Acaster admitted he knew his extraordinary round table moment would provoke a range of opinions, particularly because it was something that had never happened on the programme before. He said: "I didn't go in planning to do it, but after it happened, you go, well, that's never happened on the show before, so there's going to be every opinion. Every opinion under the sun about that."
Despite anticipating the backlash, he insisted he was prepared to stand by his actions. He said: "Part of me was just like, stand by it, I don't care. You obviously get to that point as well, where you know that the public will have every opinion about it, and you can't worry about the people who don't like whatever it is that you've done."
Jessie Ware defended him against criticism, saying: "I know that lots of people have said you were a villain, which I think is ridiculous, and I found it very attractive as a woman." Lennie agreed, explaining that she found the moment attractive because James had admitted his faults and acknowledged his actions.
Behind the Scenes Insight
His comments come after series winner Romesh Ranganathan offered an insight into James' behaviour behind the scenes. Ranganathan, 48, won alongside actor Sebastian Croft, 24, with the pair sharing the £83,000 prize money between their respective charities.
Acaster had initially been a Faithful before being recruited as a Traitor, but struggled with his new role and wanted to remain a Faithful, resulting in journalist Amol Rajan being eliminated. Speaking to Alan Carr on The Romesh Ranganathan Show, Ranganathan was asked whether James had really been as quiet as he appeared on screen. Romesh replied: "I don't think he was quiet. He wasn't quiet. I think it's fair to say he was wrestling with being a Traitor, but he wasn't quiet."
