Michael Rapaport‘s explosive comments before his banishment pissed off “Traitors” cast members … which was par for the course while shooting — because we’ve learned they couldn’t stand the guy the entire time.

A source close to the production of Season 4 tells TMZ … the cast thought Michael was “toxic” on set — and they were all very happy when his time on the show came to an end this week on the fifth episode.

We’re also told a rumor circulated on set that the network thought viewers would be so put off by his behavior … Peacock pushed out his final episode early to get him off fans’ TVs.

As you know … the “Traitors” cast voted to banish Rapaport from the show — which was spurred on by the explosive roundtable discussion before the vote, during which MR seemed to imply Colton Underwood — a gay man who was closeted for years — was “better at holding a secret” than anyone else in the room.

Rapaport apologized to Underwood on-air … and also told us he and the former “Bachelor” star had a man-to-man convo after cameras stopped rolling and there’s a lot of mutual respect between them.

Anyhoo … the cast can breathe a sigh of relief now that Michael’s gone — even with three killers on the loose!