It’s official: Jeffrey Tambor will not be returning to Amazon Studios’ Transparent in the wake of sexual harassment claims and a subsequent internal investigation by the retail and streaming giant.
Amazon confirmed the news Thursday, noting that it had completed its internal investigation into the Emmy-winning actor. Tambor will have no role in the forthcoming season of the Jill Soloway critical darling.
“I have great respect and admiration for Van Barnes and Trace Lysette, whose courage in speaking out about their experience on Transparent is an example of the leadership this moment in our culture requires,” Soloway said in a statement Thursday. “We are grateful to the many trans people who have supported our vision for Transparent since its inception and remain heartbroken about the pain and mistrust their experience has generated in our community. We are taking definitive action to ensure our workplace respects the safety and dignity of every individual, and are taking steps to heal as a family.”
The news comes after a November statement from Tambor, who faced multiple allegations of sexual harassment, in which he said he didn’t “see how I can return to Transparent.”
At the time, sources told The Hollywood Reporter that that while Tambor hinted that he was leaving Transparent, he never outright said he was exiting the show. Amazon Studios, who own and produce the Soloway series, had been investigating the actor and has now made its official decision that the actor will not have any role in the show’s upcoming fifth season.
Transparent castmember Trace Lysette previously told THR that Tambor sexually harassed her on multiple occasions, claiming he “got physical” in one instance. After the alleged physical assault, which took place on set, Lysette said she felt like she was being targeted and sexually harassed by Tambor. Working with the actor “has been a roller coaster. One minute Jeffrey is lovely, the next it’s a temper tantrum or flirtation,” she said. (Tambor, in a statement, acknowledged that he can be “volatile and ill-tempered” to work with, “but I have never been a predator — ever.”)
Lysette was the second transgender actress to go public with misconduct allegations against Tambor. His former assistant, transgender actress Van Barnes, accused the actor of behaving in a sexually inappropriate manner in a private social media post. Amazon immediately launched an investigation into the Transparent star on Nov. 8. At the time, Soloway told THR, “Anything that would diminish the level of respect, safety and inclusion so fundamental to our workplace is completely antithetical to our principles. We are cooperating with the investigation into this matter.”
The Transparent writing staff, sources say, began reworking the upcoming fifth season following news of the first allegation against Tambor as the series mulled refocusing the show without its star. Transparent was renewed for a fifth cycle ahead of season four’s debut. The new season was set to begin production and premiere this year. Here’s Tambor’s original statement in which he hinted at his exit:
“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. 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.”
When speaking with THR ahead of season four, co-star Alexandra Billings, who also supported Lysette’s claims, acknowledged that Tambor, a cis man, would never have been cast in the lead transgender role if the show had launched in 2017. “There would be a backlash unlike anything,” said the transgender actress and activist. “Anytime it happens, those projects go away. There have been two movies that have come out with cis people in the lead playing trans people, and they disappeared. So first of all, that speaks to our power. And second of all, that speaks to the fact that the consciousness in America is changing.”
(Excerpt) Read More in: The Hollywood Reporter
Jeffrey Tambor Officially Fired From ‘Transparent’ in Wake of Harassment Claims
