Criminal Minds star Thomas Gibson has been fired from the hit CBS show after the actor got into a physical altercation with one of its producers last month.
“Thomas Gibson has been dismissed from Criminal Minds,” ABC and CBS Television Studios said in a statement on Friday. “Creative details for how the character’s exit will be addressed in the show will be announced at a later date.”
The 54-year-old actor had initially been suspended for two episodes over the incident last month, in which Gibson had allegedly kicked the show’s co-producer and writer Virgil Williams after a disagreement over a scene Gibson had been directing turned physical.
According to Variety, Gibson will still appear in two episodes of the crime drama’s upcoming 12th season, though he will be written out of the show after that. Producers will likely face a tough task in getting rid of the character; Gibson has played Aaron Hotchner on the show in more than 250 episodes since 2005.
This is reportedly not the first time that Gibson has been physically abusive on set. TMZ reported that Gibson was ordered to anger management classes in 2010 after allegedly striking an assistant director while filming a scene.
The 12th season of Criminal Minds is set to premiere September 28 on CBS.
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.