After two women accused Jeffrey Tambor of sexual misconduct and Amazon launched an investigation into the allegations, the star of Transparent announced Sunday he's leaving the show, Deadline reports.
“Playing Maura Pfefferman on Transparent has been one of the greatest privileges and creative experiences of my life,” Tambor told Deadline. “What has become clear over the past weeks, however, is that this is no longer the job I signed up for four years ago.”
In a Facebook post earlier this month, Tambor's former assistant Van Barnes claimed the actor repeatedly groped her, propositioned her, and blasted pornography while she was within earshot, Vanity Fair reports. He once allegedly told her she "should be sleeping with him if I want a Hollywood industry appropriate pay." After Barnes' post went viral, Amazon Studios—which puts out Transparent—launched an investigation into the allegations.
About a week later, Tambor's Transparent co-star Trace Lysette accused him of regularly making inappropriate, sexually-charged comments about her appearance—once allegedly telling her "I want to attack you sexually," according to the Hollywood Reporter. Lysette also claimed Tambor backed her into a corner and dry-humped her during a scene the two shot for Transparent's second season.
"He came in close, put his bare feet on top of mine so I could not move, leaned his body against me, and began quick, discreet thrusts back and forth against my body," Lysette told THR. "I felt his penis on my hip through his thin pajamas and I pushed him off of me."
Tambor has denied the allegations against him. But on Sunday, the actor announced he would be leaving Transparent in light of them.
“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,” Tambor told Deadline. "Given the politicized atmosphere that seems to have afflicted our set, I don’t see how I can return to Transparent.”
What the revelations mean for the future of Transparent is still up in the air. According to Deadline, the show's writers have been workshopping a way to keep the show going without Tambor's character. Several transgender actors (including Lysette) star in the show, and with Tambor gone, there's potential for the series to continue without a cisgender lead.
The writers behind Transparent aren't the only ones wrestling with how to move forward when a star is accused of sexual misconduct. After House of Cards' lead actor Kevin Spacey was hit with several allegations of sexual misconduct, Netflix put the show's upcoming season on an indefinite hiatus, and word broke that he'll be edited out of his latest movie.
There's still no word on what the allegations against Tambor might mean for the new season of Arrested Development or his part in the star-studded The Death of Stalin.
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