[griojw id=”vkbRlTM5″ playerid=””]
Fans of The Chi were rocked to find out Jason Mitchell was dismissed from the hit Showtime series due to sexual misconduct rumors, and now the star of the show has finally responded.
“I think it’s time to make a statement. To everyone commenting without any knowledge of what’s going please stop…and to all my supporters I appreciate you all and I’m sorry I will no longer be in (“The Chi”)..but don’t believe what you read in the media…” Mitchell wrote on Instagram.
In the post, Mitchell does not go into detail about the accusations alleged against him, nor does he speak about his dismissal.
The show will continue without Mitchell for the third season, and the statement comes after months of silence regarding his conduct on the show and another film, Desperados, on Netflix.
Read More: REPORTS: Jason Mitchell dropped from ‘The Chi’ and Netflix film amid multiple misconduct allegations
Deadline reported when the series returns, the character will be killed off to further the storyline. The update is what prompted the statement from Mitchell. There was not a specific detail on how exactly his character would be removed from the series.
“There is a lot of great life in The Chi, and there’s also death in The Chi, and that’s how we’ll be dealing with it,” confirmed Showtime President of Entertainment Gary Levine.
“We were made aware at the time that the allegations were made,” Showtime President of Entertainment Jana Winograde said during the panel. “We are not the lead studio, the lead studio is Fox, but even when we are not lead studio we tend to be involved and were made aware of the allegations. They (Fox 21) conducted thorough investigation. After that investigation, we all made the decision together that it was appropriate at that time to give him some training and guidance on appropriate behavior on set.”
Read More: ‘The Chi’ actress Tiffany Boone breaks silence after Jason Mitchell’s firing
This past May, Mitchell was fired from the show after he was reportedly harassing co-star Tiffany Boone, his onscreen girlfriend, behind the scenes. Boone’s decreased level of comfort would eventually lead to her fiancé coming to set to support her during filming.
In addition to Boone, Vulture details one of The Chi’s showrunner was allegedly harassed by Mitchell. Ayanna Floyd says show creator Lena Waithe was aware of Mitchell’s conduct and was brought in to assist in creating a healthy work environment. Floyd states she ended up a target of Mitchell’s actions and consequently left the show at the conclusion of the second season.