Jeffrey Tambor, Emmy-winning star of Transparent, will not be returning to the cast for the show's upcoming fifth season. Amazon Studios confirmed the actor's departure to NPR on Thursday.
The announcement comes several months after multiple claims of sexual misconduct surfaced against Tambor, who played trans woman Maura Pfefferman in the Amazon Studio series. As NPR's Emma Bowman reported in November, Tambor had been accused of groping his former assistant, transgender actress Van Barnes, and making inappropriate sexual advances on transgender co-star Trace Lysette.
"I have great respect and admiration for Van Barnes and Trace Lysette, whose courage in speaking out about their experience on Transparent is an example of the leadership this moment in our culture requires," show creator and co-writer Jill Soloway said in a statement to NPR.
"We are grateful to the many trans people who have supported our vision for Transparent since its inception," Soloway continued, "and remain heartbroken about the pain and mistrust their experience has generated in our community. We are taking definitive action to ensure our workplace respects the safety and dignity of every individual, and are taking steps to heal as a family."
Tambor has apologized for any inadvertent misbehavior but has denied the allegations against him, which he called "simply and utterly untrue." And even in November, he signaled in a statement that his time with the show may be ending: "Given the politicized atmosphere that seems to have afflicted our set, I don't see how I can return to 'Transparent.' "
Both Tambor and Soloway have won multiple Emmys for their work on the show — Tambor for lead acting and Soloway for directing in 2015 and 2016.
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