Lena Waithe Speaks Out Regarding Jason Mitchell Allegations
The Chi‘s creator Lena Waithe has broken her silence regarding sexual harassment allegations against The Chi‘s actor Jason Mitchell.
On Tuesday (May 28), Waithe released her statement alongside The Chi‘s showrunner Ayanna Floyd.
A source close to Waithe told The Hollywood Reporter that Waithe wasn’t made aware of the allegations against Mitchell until after the first season of the Showtime show wrapped, but Floyd’s statement contradicts Waithe’s.
Last week, news broke that The Chi actress Tiffany Boone, who plays Mitchell’s girlfriend on The Chi had accused Mitchell of sexual harassment. Boone claimed that the misconduct was so bad that she had her boyfriend join her on set because Mitchell made her feel that uncomfortable.
“I think Tiffany is a wonderful actress and an extremely brave woman. I wish her nothing but success in the future. I look forward to getting back to work on season three,” Waithe told THR.
“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.
“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 continued.
Mitchell was accused of not only harassing Tiffany Boone, but also harassing more than one of his co-stars on The Chi, as previously reported.
Mitchell has been dropped by his management, agent, and terminated from The Chi as well as an upcoming show on Netflix that he had a role on.
Waithe previously told THR, “I’ve been very involved in Time’s Up and that movement, and for season two, we’re making sure that women feel safe [I]f you want to play that game and be disrespectful or misbehave on set with an actress or anyone, I’ll happily call Showtime and say, ‘This person has to go,’ and you will get shot up and it’ll be a wonderful finale.”
Glennisha Morgan is a Detroit-bred multimedia journalist and writer. She writes about intersectionality, hip-hop, pop culture, queer issues, race, feminism, and her truth. Follow her on Twitter.
