Ugly Behind-The-Scenes Drama Robbed The Rookie Fans of Talia Bishop
The actress refused to tolerate how some of the crew members were behaving.
The Rookie has been running since the fall of 2018 and tells the story of the oldest recruit in the Los Angeles Police Department who, at forty years old, decides to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a cop.
What does every recruit need? That's right, a mentor. Talia Bishop, who was a key character in the first season, became such a mentor for main character John Nolan.
She reluctantly took 40-year-old rookie under her wing as his failures threatened her career, too. Bishop quickly became a fan favorite – although she seemed harsh at first glance, Talia saw in John what he had to prove to others and truly supported him in pursuing his dream.
Even more unexpected and shocking to fans was the news that Afton Williamson, who played the role of Bishop, would not be returning for the second season. It turned out that the decision to leave the series was made by the actress herself due to bullying, racial discrimination and sexual harassment from other members of the film crew.
The actress shared the news on her Instagram account:
"I experienced Racial Discrimination/Racially Charged inappropriate comments from the hair department and bullying from Executive Producers. During the Season, it continued along with Sexual Harassment from a recurring guest star and the racist commentary & bullying."
The actress complained that the person in charge of makeup on the set made inappropriate racial comments to her. The same man attempted to sexually assault Williamson at one of the parties. She accused one of guest stars of sexual harassment and the executive producers of outright bullying.
According to Williamson, complaints to ABC, which airs the show, did not yield the desired result. A meeting was then held between two producers, the writer of The Rookie, the actress' agent and representatives of SAG-AFTRA.
Afton was asked to continue filming and promised to look into the matter, even though the investigation had not yet begun and the filming of the second season had already started. As a result, the actress refused the offer and left the show.
In 2019, it was announced that the investigation did not uncover the violations alleged by Williamson, and that the workers mentioned by the actress did not exhibit inappropriate behavior in the workplace.
Sources: Afton Williamson on Instagram, Entertainment Weekly