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Over the weekend Afton Williamson, most known for her role in ABC’s The Rookie, announced she was leaving the show for racial discrimination and sexual harassment.
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In a post on Instagram, the 34-year-old details several incidents where she says she was the subject of racist remarks from the head of the Hair Department. Williamson also says she was a victim of sexual harassment from a reoccurring guest on the show and those reports went undocumented.
In a statement, an ABC executive said, “The allegations involve a production from Entertainment One. In late June, eOne made us aware and informed us that they launched an investigation that is ongoing. The safety of working environments is a top priority for us, and we take this matter very seriously. We take claims of this nature very seriously. We have initiated an independent investigation which is ongoing and as such, it would not be appropriate to comment at this time.”
The series follows the story of John Nolan (Nathan Fillion), a small-town guy looking to start over professionally after a near-death experience. His lifelong goal — to become a member of the Los Angeles Police Department, and as you can imagine being the oldest “rookie” doesn’t make the job any easier.
Williamson is the latest Black actress in Hollywood to speak out against unfair treatment on set. Earlier this summer, The Chi star, Tiffany Boone left her role on the Showtime series, alleging misconduct at the hands of co-star Jason Mitchell.
Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for SCAD aTVfest 2018
Ayanna Floyd Davis, the series’ Showrunner, also left alleging the same. Lena Waithe has since admitted she didn’t handle the situation the best way and confirmed Mitchell’s role would not be recast. Just this weekend fans learned the fate of the New Orleans native’s character officially, “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,” Showtime’s President of Entertainment Gary Levine said.
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