[7] He is of Bulgarian and Greek descent and grew up in the Old North area of Tel Aviv with his father after his parents divorced shortly after his birth.

When he became a judge on Kokhav Nolad, he became much more prominent, and Tzarfati's sexuality became a public debate; he was displeased with the media response, feeling insulted at the characterisation that he was only coming out as an old man.

[9][10] He had not felt comfortable to be out while working in theatre, due to internalised homophobia and a masculine culture among male performers behind the scenes that he did not feel included him, and came out when he left acting.

[2][3] Tzarfati has said that he went into reality television for the money, and in 2014 opined that there is no depth to the shows he judges on, purely intending to keep viewers watching for ratings and so profit.

[12] Though he does not know Yiddish, he directed a 2014 Yiddishpiel production of The Government Inspector starring Mike Burstyn and a cast of predominantly young Russian actors.