Criminal Minds On-Set Drama That Led to Thomas Gibson Firing
Fans of Criminal Minds are abuzz following the announcement of a series reboot. Talk soon turned to speculation about one of the original cast members who got the boot. If fans were shocked that Thomas Gibson, who portrayed SSA Aaron Hotchner for 12 seasons, the cast and crew were not.
The public was not privy to the star's frequent outbursts on the set. Allegedly, Gibson repeatedly sparred with co-star Shemar Moore, in verbal altercations that threatened to turn physical. Things did turn physical on at least two occasions when Gibson shoved assistant director Virgil Williams and another time when he kicked a member of the crew.
The incident with Williams couldn't have happened at a more inopportune time. Cast and crew were in the midst of renegotiating contracts when wordplay turned to foul play. Foul-tempered Gibson was given a two-week suspension but would ultimately be terminated.
Following his dismissal from the popular CBS series, Gibson threatened to file a wrongful termination lawsuit. This was when he discovered he was named in a suit filed by his manager. It seems Gibson wasn't satisfied with his management team and simply stopped paying them. (Only in Hollywood, right?)
The actor's manager stated in the lawsuit that Gibson was known to have a terrible temper and troubles always surrounded any project he worked on. Court documents show Gibson owed his manager close to $500,000. The suit says the plaintiff worked diligently at "[...] rescuing Gibson's career from professional crises of Gibson's own making."
In January 2013, a video surfaced on TMZ in which an allegedly intoxicated Gibson required 5 police officers to subdue him. Gibson refused to consent to a breathalyzer, but the evidence of him being under the influence was damning.
During Los Angeles' annual night marathon, the actor refused to let police barricades being used to block off certain surface streets for the runners' safety impede him. After being wrestled to the ground while repeatedly screaming, "I am not resisting," Gibson was taken into custody.
While substance abuse can indeed affect a person's temperament and judgement, it's not an excuse for bad choices. Gibson chose to assault coworkers. If he'd run over and killed marathon participants, it would've been because he chose to drive while under the influence. If producers of the Criminal Minds reboot choose not to work with Gibson again, that is their choice, too.