Thomas Ravenel announces he's quitting 'Southern Charm' in wake of sexual assault allegations and breakup rumors
Thomas Ravenel is done with Southern Charm.
The reality star announced his exit from the Bravo series in a tweet from his protected Twitter account. In it, he blames the show for taking “advantage” of him and “fictionalizing” his storyline, which has typically centered heavily around his relationships with girlfriend Ashley Jacobs and the mother of his two children, Kathryn Dennis. The tweet comes just two days after he told fans in a since-deleted Instagram post that the show had a “lot of lies.”
The 56-year-old Ravenel may be referencing the sexual assault allegations made against him in recent months by two women, including his children’s former nanny, which he has denied. The allegations prompted Ravenel to be absent from the show’s Season 5 reunion special, while Haymaker, the production company behind Southern Charm, announced its intentions to launch an investigation. Police are also investigating the claims.
A post shared by Two Judgey Girls (@twojudgeygirls) on Aug 14, 2018 at 1:01pm PDT
Many viewers have reacted to Ravenel’s announcement by accusing him of trying “to play the victim.”
It's honestly appalling for Thomas Ravenel to say that #SouthernCharm and #Bravo "took advantage" of him, neither one forced him to do the horrendous things that he did, and for him to try to play the victim in any way, shape or form is absolutely ludicrous! pic.twitter.com/RtMznSqF4H
— Vɪᴄᴛᴏʀɪᴀ 🌴 #BB20 (@realityontrocks) August 14, 2018
The guy who is being investigated for several sexual assaults and impregnated a 21yr old at 50yrs old, claims that Bravo "took advantage" of him.
Again HE is claiming to be a victim of being "taken advantage"of.
Oh sweet irony…..& total bullshit#ThomasRavenel#SouthernCharm— M🌊 (@mmmcintyre) August 15, 2018
He should be ashamed of himself
— patti (@pattiputko) August 15, 2018
“Took advantage of you?! You are a grown ass man!” one Instagram commenter wrote.
“Seriously?! THEY took advantage of YOU?!” read another comment. “You behaved like a violent creep toward [co-star] Chelsea & have treated Kathryn horribly. Go away. You will not be missed.”
But the decision to leave may not have been Ravenel’s. A source told the gossip site Radar Online that he was fired ahead of the show’s sixth season.
“The production company decided to let Thomas go,” the insider claimed. “They made the decision to fire him before filming wrapped. That’s also why he wasn’t allowed to go to the reunion.”
Yahoo has contacted Haymaker for comment. Bravo declined to remark on the situation.
Ravenel’s departure also comes in the wake of rumors that he and girlfriend Jacobs, who has defended him over the allegations, have split. On Tuesday via her new Instagram account, which fans say is scrubbed of any mention of Ravenel, Jacobs shared a reflective post about failure.
A post shared by Ashley Jacobs (@ashleyhjacobs) on Aug 14, 2018 at 10:42am PDT
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