Warning: this contains spoilers for the penultimate episode of Celebrity Traitors, aired on Thursday, 29 October.

Last night was the finale of Celebrity Traitors in the UK. In the previous episode, there was a series first in which James Acaster confessed that he was a traitor at the round table. It was odd and disconcerting — but it is a television programme, and one in which celebrities are competing for charity. For whatever reason that James felt compelled to make this disclosure, I respect that.

What interests me is the way that viewers have fawned over James, from social media to the pages of the Guardian. Things went to another level as viewers started condemning Michael Sheen for reasons that remain inexplicable to me — for the fact that he actually played the game he was brought on to play instead of actively trying to sit it out and leaving his teammates to do the work.

I get it. In James’ shoes, I would’ve been gutted, too. I’m terrible at lying. In the moments I fancy applying for the next season, I know I’d have to play as a faithful. I would want to play exactly the same role that James craved, and he has all the empathy I can offer a celebrity playing for charity and getting free publicity. (Anything you’d like to plug?)

As far as I can understand it, people seem to have fallen in love with him for the fact that he didn’t want to be a villain or the main character. Lovely stuff. I can respect that, too.

But I can’t go any further.

Somehow James nearly made it to the finale. He had a good chance of surviving the vote if he hadn’t stopped the game at the table. (Again: his decision. I respect it.) But he only made it as far as he did because of the labour of Black contestants who graciously propped him up time and again.

As much as James was happy to go on about how he wanted to be a team player for the faithfuls, he seemed absolutely ignorant of the fact that he was still on a team that he all but abandoned. Maya was forced to bring Kenny in because of James’ unwillingness to take part in his role as a traitor. Once he was recruited, Kenny had to jump into action immediately because James all but refused to take part in the murder in plain sight.

And then James actually did refuse to help his teammates. In a shield-building exercise, the traitors were given time to sabotage their castmates’ work. James not only refused to help, he stood by — blindfold on — shrugging his shoulders wildly, as he refused to even look his teammates in the eye. It was deeply uncomfortable watching a white man stand by and refuse to participate while his teammates, both people of colour, were left on their own to shoulder the work and put themselves at risk of elimination.

What a metaphor for white male fragility. Finding oneself cast into an uncomfortable reality, choosing ignorance in pursuit of a fantasy game that no one else is playing while shortchanging the people around you to figure things out without you. 

And throughout, as far as we can tell from the editing, is that Maya and Kenny were incredibly gracious to James. Fair play to them for being kind. It is, after all, a game — and one played for charity. 

James seems like a genuine and a kindhearted person who was under mental duress. Mental health is health, and, if anything, perhaps this is an important opportunity to speak about that. But enough of the heart throb altar and fetishization of white male benignity. Enough of this impulse that rewards people like Harry Styles for doing absolutely zero work when confronted with a concert attendee who shouted “free Palestine,” and all he could muster was “correct.” Or, and here I hold a younger version of myself to account, the fawning over Justin Trudeau for simply branding himself a feminist. 

We do not need to fetishise in order to empathise.