After days of rumors that Amazon might be proceeding without him, Jeffrey Tambor has announced he will not be appearing in Transparent‘s upcoming fifth season.
Tambor—who plays the show’s lead character (a trans parent named Maura)—faces two separate sexual harassment allegations from staffers involved with the Emmy award-winning series. Both his former assistant and a recurring guest star have stepped forward with accounts of being inappropriately touched by the lead actor. While Tambor at first alleged one of his accusers was “disgruntled,” he appears to now be using a different tone.
In a statement to Deadline Sunday, Tambor wrote:
Playing Maura Pfefferman on Transparent has been one of the greatest privileges and creative experiences of my life. 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.
Tambor’s departure marks a big shift for Amazon‘s most award-winning original series. With a family of characters all exploring gender and sexuality, though, something tells us the writers may be up to the task of turning the loss into something heartfelt.
At a panel in Hollywood Saturday, show creator Jill Soloway said she was “not able to say anything at all” because of Amazon’s ongoing internal investigation.