Jeffrey Tambor leaves Transparent following sexual assault allegations
Jeffrey Tambor has suggested he will not return to Transparent, the Amazon series for which he won Emmy and Golden Globe awards, after women who worked with him on the show made allegations of sexual misconduct towards him.
Tambor, 73, said in a statement: "Given the politicised atmosphere that seems to have afflicted our set, I don’t see how I can return to Transparent".
Tambor also expressed his "deep regret if any action of mine was ever misinterpreted by anyone as being aggressive" but denied that he had "deliberately harrassed anyone", saying "the idea is simply and utterly untrue."
The statement comes after two of Tambor's female co-workers on the drama, which follows a man undergoing gender transition in his seventies, accused him of sexual misconduct. Trace Lysette, who plays Shae, the trans friend of Tambor's character Maura, claimed that Tambor told her, "My God, Trace. I want to attack you sexually", after she emerged in her costume of skimpy pajamas.
She then said that Tambor "came in close, put his bare feet on top of mine so I could not move, leaned his body against me, and began quick, discreet thrusts back and forth against my body".
Her allegations follow those of Van Barnes, Tambor's personal assistant on Transparent whose accusations, made in a private Facebook post, caused Amazon to open an investigation into the actor's behaviour.
Transparent creator Jil Soloway refused to comment on the investigation specifically, preferring to remain silent in order to "make sure that we have a process with the most integrity to make sure that everybody … that it turns out fair".
The Emmy award-winner did, however, suggest a solution on Saturday: "What if we don’t have sex with people at work? We don’t talk about sex at work, and we don’t touch people at work" said Soloway. "Just to try it. I don’t know if it’s going to work. But you just check before you give somebody a hug."
Amazon are yet to issue a statement on their investigation or Tambor's comments.
