In Jason Mitchell Misconduct Case, ‘The Chi’ Showrunner Reported Him To HR
Actor Jason Mitchell was abruptly fired from multiple acting jobs, including his Showtime TV series The Chi earlier this month, for reasons that at first referenced an unspecified act of misconduct. In addition to losing that work, Mitchell also was dropped by both his agent and his management company.
Per The Inquisitr, it was reported last week that Mitchell had been accused of sexual harassment on the set of The Chi, by his costar Tiffany Boone, who at one point told producers that she could no longer work with Mitchell; other actresses “had issues” with Mitchell as well. The actor was fired from both that show, which is wrapping up its second season, as well as the upcoming Netflix film Desperados.
Now, the showunner of The Chi has spoken out about Mitchell’s departure.
“I became a target of his rage and inappropriateness, and had to report him to HR, as well,” the show’s second season showrunner, Ayanna Floyd, told The Hollywood Reporter. Lena Waithe, the show’s creator, was reportedly told about Mitchell’s behavior after the first season, but he returned for the second, despite Waithe having been outspoken in the past about on-set safety and the need to remove those accused of abuse from shows.
“When I took the helm in season two, it was Lena who informed me of the issues between Jason Mitchell and Tiffany Boone from season one, and that Tiffany was thinking of leaving the show because of it,” Floyd said in a statement to the site. “As a result of this information, I discussed Tiffany’s claims with the studio’s HR department and set up HR presentations for the writers, cast and crew. Ultimately, everyone was well aware of Jason’s behavior and his multiple HR cases, including Lena, the creator and an executive producer of the show, who is very involved at the studio and network level.”
Floyd is not returning for the third season of the show.
In the wake of multiple allegations of misconduct, #StraightOuttaCompton star Jason Mitchell has been terminated by his agent and manager, dropped from Showtime’s #TheChi and from an upcoming #Netflix film, #Desperados https://t.co/Q9H0YoXmuW pic.twitter.com/kb3zJy8MJb
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) May 21, 2019
Meanwhile, a source for Showtime said that Mitchell was allowed to return to the show after the first season because of the belief that he deserved a second chance, although production company Fox 21 supervised that process, not Showtime.
Mitchell has not made any public comments since the accusations surfaced.
The actor, The Reporter said, was actually dropped from Desperados first, after he “began making actresses uncomfortable almost as soon as he arrived in Mexico” for the shoot.
Mitchell was hired for The Chi after a pair of breakout roles, including his part as Eazy-E in the 2015 movie, Straight Outta Compton, and then his role in the 2017 film, Mudbound.
