Last week, we reported that the long-running CBS seriesCriminal Mindshas fired its starThomas Gibson, who had been with the show for all 11 seasons it’s been on the air. The dismissal came after a violent on-set confrontation where the actor reportedly kicked a writer-producer identified by several outlets asVirgil Williams. Today we have word that the dismissed actor may be gearing up to file a lawsuit against his former employer over the firing, while one of his former co-stars,Shemar Moore, speaks out about the firing.
The Hollywood Reporterreveals thatThomas Gibsonhired prominent Los Angeles entertainment lawyerSkip Millerand his partnerSasha Frid, whose firm Miller Barondess are evaluating whether or not to pursue legal claims. At the time of the violentaltercation,Thomas Gibsonwas both starring in and directing an episode thatVirgil Williamswrote, whenGibsonreportedly disagreed about a creative choice, which escalated into a physical fight. Sources claim thatGibson’s actions were in self-defense, sinceWilliamsreportedly trains as a boxer, but other sources state thatWilliamsis a “non-aggressive presence” on the set and is said to be small in stature. ShowrunnerErica Messerand several other producers witnessed the fight.
This new report reveals that, after the attack,Williamsfiled a formal complaint and conducted an extensive interview with human resources. Initially,Thomas Gibsonwas merely suspended for two episodes, and another director was brought in to finish work on the episodeGibsonwas directing. However, just one day after news of the suspension became public, the actor was fired.Howard Davine, executive VP for ABC Studios, the show’s lead producer, is reportedly leading the internal investigation.
In related news, one ofThomas Gibson’s former co-stars,Shemar Moore, reportedly had some harsh words aboutGibsonin a cryptic Instagram video, which was later taken down, but saved and re-posted by a Twitter user. WhileMoorenever explicitly mentionsGibsonby name in his video, the actors have been said to have a volatile history, withGibsonreportedly often upset atShemar Moore’s tendency to show up late for workon set, since he had tightly scheduled his filming duties so he could fly home to his family in San Antonio. Here’s part ofShemar Moore’s statement from his deleted Instagram video.
“Lot of birdies chirping out there; the gossip is real. I’ll just say this: I believe in karma. Good things happen to good people. Honest people. Hard-working people. Humble people. People who believe in basic goodness. … Treat people how you expect them to treat you. Celebrate yourself and celebrate your blessings - as you should - but just know that you’re not better than anybody.”
In a breach of contract complaint filed two years ago byThomas Gibson’s former manager,Craig Dorfman, the manager claimed he, “talked Gibson out of physically attacking Moore.” As forThomas Gibson’s exit from the show, he will appear in the first two episodes, butcreative detailsabout how he will be written off have not been revealed. It also isn’t known what the creative differences were that lead to this altercation, but this isn’t the first time he has made headlines for his behavior. The actor was also allegedly involved in aphysical confrontationon theCriminal Mindsset back in 2010 with an assistant director, which lead the network to sendThomas Gibsonto anger management classes. Take a look at the now-deleted videoShemar Mooresent out to his Instagram followers that was later deleted, and stay tuned for more updates.
