As a wave of sexual harassment allegations continues to engulf Hollywood, numerous actors, directors and producers have come under fire for inappropriate and in some cases, disturbing behavior. From Kevin Spacey to Harvey Weinstein, it’s been one after another and this weekend, it’s Jeffrey Tambor, star of Amazon’s hit series Transparent, who’s in the spotlight.
Deadline’s reporting that after two accusations of sexual harassment by members of the show’s team which, for the record, the actor denies, Tambor has now departed. In a statement released earlier today, he said the following:
“Playing Maura Pfefferman on Transparent has been one of the greatest privileges and creative experiences of my life. What has become clear over the past weeks, however, is that this is no longer the job I signed up for four years ago.”
Continuing on, Tambor said:
“I’ve already made clear my deep regret if any action of mine was ever misinterpreted by anyone as being aggressive, but the idea that I would deliberately harass anyone is simply and utterly untrue,” Tambor asserted as well. “Given the politicized atmosphere that seems to have afflicted our set, I don’t see how I can return to Transparent.”
Though there had been discussions about writing the actor’s character out of the show for a while now, this still comes as a pretty big surprise. Amazon wouldn’t comment on Tambor’s shocking decision, but from what we understand, they’re currently investigating the allegations and still plan to continue on with a fifth season at some point next year.
Presumably, the focus will now shift towards Transparent‘s ensemble, but the studio is yet to announce how the show will move ahead from here. Tambor is certainly out though and while we still expect him to be back for the next season of Arrested Development, it’ll be interesting to see if this situation ends up having any impact on his role there.