Celebrity Traitors has been hit with allegations of "unconscious bias" after actress Myah'la was banished from the castle. The Industry star was wrongfully voted out despite being a faithful, after being caught winking at Traitor Richard E. Grant.
Allegations and Denials
Following her exit, a social media user accused her co-stars of being "racist." While the actress defended the cast and said "that's just not the case," Myah'la added: "I do agree that unconscious racial and cultural bias exists in this game."
BBC bosses have reportedly denied Myah'la's claims and insisted the stars are "very much used to working with a huge variety" of people throughout their careers. They added that it was "just not the case" that race played a role in the elimination process.
Bias in the Game
Unconscious bias is defined as making judgments based on assumptions, prior experience, or personal thought patterns that can impede impartial judgment. In relation to race, it means holding automatic, unintentional stereotypes or attitudes about people of different racial or ethnic backgrounds outside of conscious awareness.
According to the Royal Society, the brain processes millions of bits of information per second, using rapid-fire assumptions to simplify decision-making. This happened when Julie Hesmondhalgh saw Myah'la wink at Richard and interpreted it as Traitor affinity, which led her to suspect the actress.
Previous Seasons and Reactions
In series four of Traitors UK, contestants Judy and Ross were voted off after being wrongly identified as traitors. In the first season of Celebrity Traitors UK, however, singer Cat Burns, comedian Nick Mohammed, and filmmaker David Olusuga, who are people of colour, all made it to the final alongside Alan Carr and Joe Marler.
A source told The Mail: "Not to spoil anything, of course. But there are some very good players who are not white." They insisted that it was "ridiculous" that unconscious bias was a factor and said: "Look at the British showbiz landscape and say which of those cast members hasn't worked with a black woman before. It's very unfair to say that."
The source added: "The people who work behind the scenes on the show are really, really good people who want to have a show that appeals to everyone. It was so hurtful for them to read that. They do their very, very best to make a brilliant programme."
In her statement, Myah'la added: "And! I do think games like this should allow more conversation around unconscious bias and how, when under pressure, people (society) gravitate towards things they know and understand or subsequently push away from things they don't."
The whole premise of the game is for players to find out who is being deceitful, and once a theory has been locked down at the roundtable discussions, it's practically impossible to sway people's opinions. This means they rely heavily on intuition and often use the wrong cues, which is more so confirmation bias - a psychological tendency to search for, interpret, favour, and recall information that confirms pre-existing beliefs while ignoring contradicting evidence.
While unconscious bias can exist, it's the BBC's responsibility to mitigate it and not fan the flames.
