The Traitors is arguably one of the best reality shows on TV right now, becoming an Emmy-winning sensation in just a few months. Those with a Peacock subscription are currently watching Season 4, which has had plenty of memorable moments. And DWTS' Mark Ballas recently explained his actions about an early murder in plain sight, and explained how he got paranoid about skittles in host Alan Cumming's castle.
The cast of The Traitors Season 4 is full of reality TV royalty, including Ballas. Early in the season, Traitor and Housewife Candiace Dillard-Bassett started a conga line to get the cast away from the kitchen, and a number of Faithful have been getting flak for joining that viral dance. In a video on his Instagram, Mark offered more context to that sequence, saying:
The part that you're not seeing is that the conga line had been discussed a few times. So it wasn't that weird. I think that's why Candiace said 'the conga line' versus 'a conga line.'
Honestly, this does make me feel better. The audience is never shown these prior conversations about the conga line, which is why they criticized the cast for being convinced to join something that seemed so over the top. Although Rob Cesternino was adamant that he wouldn't be convinced to do anything, due to fear of murder in plain sight.
In fact Rob C, who is in some of the best Survivor seasons, is the reason why Mark Ballas suddenly got super paranoid, specifically about what he'd eaten during the night of the conga line. Because after he told them he was nervous about a murder in plain sight, the Dancing with the Stars pro started thinking about everything he'd put into his mouth that day. As he explained:
I was f-cked up in that moment over the skittles. I didn't hear anything that Rob said after he said 'If someone's asked you to eat or drink something...' I felt cold. And I was like 'Oh damn. I've just been poisoned by the skittles.'
Cesternino is clearly a student of The Traitors, and he had good instincts about the conga line. But it wasn't a murder in plain sight; instead, Rob Rausch needed to use a secret compartment in the kitchen to see who Donna put on the short list for murder. So while Mark Ballas was safe, he started to really worry about the skittles he was chomping down on, especially when combined with early suspicions of Candiace. As he put it:
Why? Because on my list were people who I suspected on the fist couple days, and just had a feeling... The other two on my suspect list was Donna and Candiace... If I get murdered after Round Table 1 it could be Candiace. And the only people I told were Stephen, Natalie, Eric, and Kristen. So I said 'If I don't come back tomorrow, I think I got poisoned by the skittles.'
In the end, this didn't play out. Ballas was able to taste the rainbow without being murdered as a result, and he's still in the game at the point of writing this story. While he's had limited screen time so far, his social media presence has explained the deeper game he was playing that the audience isn't privy to.
New episodes of The Traitors air Thursdays as part of the 2026 TV schedule. We'll just have to see how far Mark Ballas gets, and if/when we get more of his POV.
