Ron Funches shared he is autistic after seeking out a diagnosis amid watching himself back on Season 4 of “The Traitors.”
The comedian shared the news with his followers on Instagram Thursday, when he wrote on his Stories, “Well the internet told me I was autistic and was right. You win this round.”
He added: “Thanks [‘The Traitors’] for helping me find out more about me through some type of cruel trauma.”
Funches’ update comes a day after he shared on Threads that he had decided to seek out a possible diagnosis after seeing himself be so misunderstood throughout Season 4 of the Peacock competition series. (He had already been a vocal autism advocate, as his son, Malcolm, now in his 20s, was diagnosed with autism back when he was 2.)
“I honestly didn’t know I myself had Autism,” he noted on Wednesday. “I thought I was just an ally and parent of an autistic child, but the way I felt I wasn’t being comprehended or understood while I thought I was being direct, and seeing some of my own mannerisms, made [me] start the process of going to get a diagnosis.”
However, he noted that he wouldn’t be “comfortable calling [himself] autistic” until he received a formal diagnosis.
Funches has found himself at odds with a number of the Season 4 cast members, many of whom suspected the comedian of being a traitor due to his ties to “secret traitor” Donna Kelce and incorrectly pitching Porsha Williams as a traitor early on in the game.
Yet, while other contestants have since made similar missteps, Funches’ castmates remained convinced that he was a traitor due to his perceived anti-social ways. During one episode, Funches attempted to relay that he wasn’t someone who could be “on” 24/7, but that reasoning didn’t seem to be enough for some of the cast, resulting in a fiery exchange between the “Undateable” alum and “Real Housewives” star Dorinda Medley.
“If the end result from me being isolated and feeling misunderstood on ‘The Traitors’ is that I understand myself and my son more,” he further wrote on Threads, “I consider that a victory worth sharing.”
New episodes of “The Traitors” arrive Thursdays on Peacock.
