Eric Nam explains torturing “Traitors” costar Rob Rausch in new music video

Dalton RossTue, March 3, 2026 at 3:00 PM UTC

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Eric Nam, Ron Funches, Rob Rausch, Maura Higgins in music video for Nam's 'How the Fire Started'Credit: Eric Nam/YouTube

Eric Nam’s game on The Traitors ended in the Fire of Truth ceremony when Rob Rausch betrayed and eliminated him so he would not have to split the $220,800 prize pot with “someone you met three weeks ago.”

But Eric has since found the perfect way to channel that pain and betrayal… through song! And, even more specifically, through a new music video in which the singer finally gets his revenge on his Traitors ally-turned-adversary. And Eric is not the only Traitors cast member with a score to settle.

Eric Nam, Rob Rausch, Maura Higgins in music video for Nam's 'How the Fire Started'Credit: Adam Kudeimati

Maura Higgins, Ron Funches, Natalie Anderson, and Yam Yam Arocho join Eric and Rob in the video for Eric’s new single “How the Fire Started,” and it is a video in which the duped reality show contestants finally have their revenge.

The western-themed video features Eric, Maura, Ron, Natalie, and Yam Yam tying Rob up, and then choking, beating, and branding the star, while also dousing him in gasoline, cutting off his infamous overalls, and finally lighting him on fire. Somehow, the Traitors winner manages to survive thanks to a heroic act (and last-second change of heart) by Ron Funches… the big softie.

Eric Nam, Rob Rausch, Maura Higgins in music video for Nam's 'How the Fire Started'Credit: Eric Nam/YouTube

Eric spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the reunion, and how he approached Rob and the others about participating.

“I had this song, it's about betrayal, being stabbed in the back, and it couldn't have happened in a more perfect way,” Eric tells EW. “I was like: Rob, you inspired a great story and a great video! I called him and I was like, ‘Hey, I have this idea. Would you be open to this?’ And he was like, ‘This is the least I could do, like, the least I could do for you. So yes.'" (It certainly was a cheaper make-good than the Rolex Eric has been floating).

After Rob committed, Eric’s next call was the other person who had been so brutally wronged at the Fire of Truth ceremony. “And then I called Maura. She was like, ‘F--- yeah.!’ So doing the scheduling was a little crazy, but we got it done. The other friends were so quick to say yes, and we had this entire thing shot and done within, like, a 10-day, two-week time span. And the turnaround has also been the same — two weeks. So it's been crazy.”

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Rob Rausch and Maura Higgins in music video for Eric Nam's 'How the Fire Started'Credit: Eric Nam/YouTube

And which part was the most fun? Was it tying Rob up? Was it cutting off his overalls? Was it dousing him with gasoline? Or was it setting him on fire? “All of it!” says Eric enthusiastically. “All of it was really fun!”

When it came to cutting off the overalls, one person in particular got to do the honors. “I wanted to give Maura the scissors to cut it off because I was like, ‘I think you deserve the scissors to go about it.’ And Rob was such a good sport about it.”

In fact, it seems the man who hid things so well in the castle had trouble hiding his smile on set of the music video. “It was funny because even as we're shooting it, he's trying not to laugh because all of it's so ridiculous,” says Eric of Rob. "And so there are so many takes of him where I'm like, ‘Rob, be serious! You're supposed to be tortured!’ And he just can't help but laugh because the entire thing is funny. So it was fun to kind of pull them a little bit into my world as much as I was in theirs just for a little bit.”

Rob Rausch in music video for Eric Nam's 'How the Fire Started'Credit: Eric Nam/YouTube

The singer also hopes fans of both his music and reality TV will enjoy the send-up. “It was a lot of fun and I hope the fans see it and they enjoy it and it's a great way to kind of wrap it all up and put a little bow on it. And for people to be reminded that this is a game. This is fun. Some people take it so seriously. Even in the comments, they're like, ‘You're being a sore loser.’ I'm like, 'This is literally a joke, guys. This is for entertainment.’ So I hope people find it fun.”

More fun for some in the video than others, no doubt.

Watch the entire video for yourself below.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”