Jeffrey Tambor said in a statement on Sunday, September 19, that he may be leaving Transparent after two sexual harassment allegations.
The Emmy winner, who was accused of misconduct by a co-star and former assistant, said he can’t see how he could return to the Amazon series.
“Playing Maura Pfefferman on Transparent has been one of the greatest privileges and creative experiences of my life,” Tambor, 73, said in a statement to Us Weekly. “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.”
As previously reported on Friday, November 17, the Golden Globe winner denied sexual harassment allegations made by his costar Trace Lysette, insisting he is “not a predator.”
“I find myself accused of behavior that any civilized person would condemn unreservedly,” he told Us in a statement on Friday. “I know I haven’t always been the easiest person to work with. I can be volatile and ill-tempered, and too often I express my opinions harshly and without tact. But I have never been a predator – ever.”
“I am deeply sorry if any action of mine was ever misinterpreted by anyone as being sexually aggressive or if I ever offended or hurt anyone,” the Arrested Development alum continued. “But the fact is, for all my flaws, I am not a predator and the idea that someone might see me in that way is more distressing than I can express.”
Lysette, a transgender actress who plays Shea on the show, told The Hollywood Reporter that Tambor “has made many sexual advances and comments at me, but one time it got physical.”
She claimed that the actor cornered her and thrust himself “back and forth against my body” before she pushed him off.
Her allegation came after Tambor’s former assistant, a transgender woman named Van Barnes, accused him of inappropriate behavior earlier this month. The Larry Sanders Show alum also denied those claims.
