‘The Chi’ actress Tiffany Boone breaks silence after Jason Mitchell’s firing
Last month, Jason Mitchell, the actor who stars on SHOWTIME’s hit series, The Chi was reportedly axed from the series and fired by his agent, manager, and the upcoming Netflix film, Desperados amid multiple claims of misconduct. Now his alleged victim, Tiffany Boone has broken her silence.
Last month, Jason Mitchell, the actor who stars on SHOWTIME’s hit series, The Chi was reportedly axed from the series and fired by his agent, manager, and the upcoming Netflix film, Desperados, amid multiple claims of misconduct. Now, his alleged victim, Tiffany Boone, has broken her silence.
In the series, Boone played the actor’s girlfriend Jerrika. But after complaining to human resources about his behavior, it allegedly continued, prompting her to quit the show altogether.
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In her June 8th Instagram post, she graciously thanked everyone who supported her, but conspicuously omitted her former co-star’s name, choosing not to focus on the unsavory circumstances that may have caused her to part ways with the project.
“I’ve never spent a lot of time on social media but I wanted everyone who has sent me positivity over the last few weeks to know I felt it,” she wrote in a handwritten note. “I am so appreciative of all the love, prayers, and support. I love you. I thank you.”
In late May, Lena Waithe, the creator of The Chi, addressed Mitchell’s firing and explained how she yielded all the power she could to rectify the situation.
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“I knew what I was dealing with on the show, but I wasn’t made aware of anything going on with Tiffany until after the season had wrapped and when Tiffany and I had a conversation – and out of respect for her privacy, ’cause the conversation we had was private – we did discuss stuff that was just inappropriate,” she explained. “And I remember looking at her – ’cause we were facetiming – and I was like, ‘Yo! This is not cool! I feel awful that you had this experience on my set that’s not pleasant…By the time the season had wrapped, I had a little bit more power. I had a little bit more clout, and I was like, ‘Here’s what I’m going to do to change that. I’mma hire a woman of color as the showrunner….’ – so I can already say that the idea of me hearing something and not doing anything just isn’t true.”
“I’m not really in control over who stays or goes on the show. I can make a pitch! I can say, ‘Yo, let’s get rid of this person.’ But, ultimately it’s not my decision. As a matter of fact, I can be on some, ‘Oh, it’s me or Jason’ – and they could pick Jason,” she continued.
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“I don’t have the power to fire anybody. I don’t! I wish I did! I don’t own ‘The Chi.’ I created it, I sold it – so it’s like, I could be fired off “The Chi.” Season one of ‘The Chi’ was just, like, a couple- maybe three years ago. And that was before people really knew who I was. So I was one of those powerless women of color in this industry. Even though they say, ‘Oh you wrote a pilot! You created a show and sold it’ – that’s true, but I didn’t have a whole ton of power on that show, or a lot of say. You’re almost an employee on your own set.”
According to reports, Boone is only one of several actresses who made complaints about the actor.
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