The dad of this “Walking Dead” actor is blasting the show for reportedly firing him
Have tissues at the ready? Good, because The Walking Dead (sort of) said goodbye to another major character. Now, if you haven’t watched Sunday’s episode, “How It’s Gotta Be,” you might want to do so before reading the below, because SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS.
Moving right along, last night’s Walking Dead revealed that Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) was bitten by a zombie. He’s still around and has some time left on the show but, sadly, he won’t be around for much longer. *tears*
It’s almost always emotional, saying farewell to a Walking Dead character. And this one is giving us a LOT of feels, especially because Carl is one of only five remaining OG characters. (Lennie James — another from Season 1, who plays Morgan — will also leave the show, but to join the cast of Fear the Walking Dead.)
As it turns out, there’s even more reason to feel emotional — maybe even heated.
Riggs’ father took to social media to explain that showrunner Scott M. Gimple (apparently) unceremoniously fired Riggs.
“Watching Gimple fire my son 2 weeks before his 18th birthday after telling him they wanted him for the next 3 years was disappointing,” Riggs’ father wrote on Facebook. “I never trusted Gimple or AMC but Chandler did. I know how much it hurt him. But we do absolutely know how lucky we have been to be a part of it all and appreciate all the love from fans all these years!”
Riggs previously confirmed that it wasn’t his choice to leave the show: “I’m taking a gap year right now to focus on acting for a while. Leaving Walking Dead wasn’t my decision,” Riggs told The Hollywood Reporter. “It was all story related. It made sense story-wise for it to happen for Rick and Michonne and all the other characters.”[/quote]
On the upside, there’ll be time to say goodbye.
“It’s very important to Carl’s story and the entire story, what happens in the next episode,” Gimple explained on Talking Dead. “I’m just focused on the fact that Carl right now is alive and he has some business to attend to. That is a one-way ticket. But I’d like to think that the things we see in the next episode are so important to his life and the other characters’ lives.”
We’re so sorry to see Riggs (and Carl) leave The Walking Dead, but here’s hoping for a kick-ass exit. In the meantime, we’re counting down the days to that next episode.
