When Netflix cut its lead actor Kevin Spacey out of its hit series House of Cards earlier this month, the streaming company set precedent for how Hollywood would handle stars with serious harassment allegations against them. Now, according to Deadline, it appears that Amazon has decided to follow a similar path with Jeffrey Tambor for its series Transparent.
Earlier this week, Tambor’s co-star Trace Lysette went public with claims that Tambor had sexually harassed her on the set of Transparent. Following Lysette’s story, Amazon released a statement claiming that, “the information will be added to our ongoing conversation”.
As the week progressed, there were rumblings that Transparent might be making the preparations to kill off Tambor’s character in season 5 and have the show move on without its lead. On Sunday, Tambor decided that he would not be returning to the Amazon series.
The actor released a statement explaining his decision. “Playing Maura Pfefferman on Transparent has been one of the greatest privileges and creative experiences of my life,” the actor said. “What has become clear over the past weeks, however, is that this is no longer the job I signed up for four years ago.”
The actor continued, “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. Given the politicized atmosphere that seems to have afflicted our set, I don’t see how I can return to Transparent.”
Amazon, whose head of Amazon Studios resigned last month due to his own harassment scandal, is still in the midst of its investigation concerning Tambor. The fifth season of Transparent was expected to air next year, although it is unclear how the show’s schedule will be affected with Tambor’s sudden decision to leave.