Jason Mitchell Addresses Sexual Misconduct Allegations Months After Being Dismissed From 'The Chi'
Jason Mitchell from the hit Showtime series The Chi has remained radio silent since he was accused of sexual misconduct in May. With a few months passing since the scandal broke, and with Showtime's co-President detailing the fate of his character on the show, the actor is now choosing to speak out.
In a pair of Instagram comments, Mitchell revealed that he will "no longer be in the chi" before urging his fans not to believe what has been reported.
"I think it's time to make a statement," he wrote under an IG post. "To everyone commenting without any knowledge of what's going [on] 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 or this fake a*s post.."
His comments were made in response to Deadline's report that, according to Showtime's President of Entertainment Gary Levine, Mitchell's character Brandon will be killed off the show.
"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," Levine said of the embattled star's departure.
Levine's co-President, Jana Winograde, added that, following reports that Mitchell was involved in an allegedly inappropriate incident during season one with co-star Tiffany Boone, he was put through HR training.
"We were made aware at the time that the allegations were made," Winograde said. "[Fox 21] conducted [a] 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."
The last straw seemingly came when season two showrunner Ayanna Floyd claimed she became "a target of his rage and inappropriateness." She filed a complaint after telling The Hollywood Reporter that she did "everything I could to deal with his behavior."
Since the accusations, Mitchell has also been dropped by UTA, Authentic Talent & Literary Management, as well as the forthcoming Netflix film Desperados.