Oscar-winner and HBO’s The White Lotus star F. Murray Abraham has apologized for telling jokes after he was reportedly fired from an Apple TV series over allegations of “sexual misconduct.”
While Lionsgate said they would not comment on matters considered personal, Abraham’s abrupt exit from Apple TV+’s Mythic Quest was reportedly due to two allegations of sexual misconduct, according to a report by Rolling Stone.
The first alleged incident resulted in the 83-year-old actor being given a warning and told to keep away from some of the show’s actresses, a production source told the magazine.
After that, a second incident was reportedly brought to show creator and star Rob McElhenney’s attention, and Abraham was ultimately fired. While the exact nature of Abraham’s alleged “sexual misconduct” has not been revealed, the actor said the comments he made were “jokes.”
“This is a sincere and deeply felt apology. Though never my intention to offend anyone, I told jokes, nothing more, that upset some of my colleagues and as a result lost a great job with wonderful people,” Abraham said in a statement on Thursday.
Statement from F. Murray Abraham pic.twitter.com/ZoJjHaV0dI
— Lisa Fung (@lfung) April 20, 2023
“I have grown in my understanding from this experience, and I hope they will forgive me,” the Grand Budapest Hotel star added in his statement.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Lionsgate said, “We take allegations of misconduct seriously and investigate them thoroughly. As a matter of corporate policy, we do not discuss our personnel actions.”
“It’s a bummer to not have Murray in this season,” McElhenney told Variety of Abraham’s departure from the show last year.
Abraham was supposed to play C.W. Longbottom, the “crusty and wildly inappropriate head writer of the Mythic Quest,” Variety reported.
“We recognize that C.W. is a beloved character and obviously a huge part of the show. So, we made sure that we have a really fitting tribute to him. We definitely address it in a big way,” McElhenney added.
Abraham was last seen in Season 2 of HBO’s The White Lotus, in which he played Italian-American grandfather Bert Di Grasso, who was visiting Sicily with his son Dominic (Michael Imperioli) and grandson Albie (Adam DiMarco) in an attempt to get in touch with his family’s roots and distant relatives.
In the HBO series, Abraham’s character oftentimes offends his woke grandson by making comments considered unacceptable in today’s irascible society.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.