Kevin Winter/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Transparent star Jeffrey Tambor isn’t saying he’s quitting the Amazon show, but in a statement he says it may be impossible for him to continue amid sexual harassment claims.
“Playing Maura Pfefferman on Transparent has been one of the greatest privileges and creative experiences of my life,” Tambor said in a statement obtained by ABC News. “What has become clear over the past weeks, however, is that this is no longer the job I signed up for four years ago. I’ve already made clear my deep regret if any action of mine was ever misinterpreted by anyone as being aggressive, but the idea that I would deliberately harass anyone is simply and utterly untrue. Given the politicized atmosphere that seems to have afflicted our set, I don’t see how I can return to Transparent.”
Two members of the Transparent team — transgender actress Trace Lysette, who plays yoga instructor Shea on the show, and Van Barnes, a former assistant to Tambor — have charged that Tambor harassed them during their work on the show.
Nearly two weeks ago, Barnes posted a private Facebook message complaining about harassment by Tambor. Then last week, Lysette posted a public statement via Twitter accusing Tambor of making “many sexual advances and comments” towards her and writing, “one time it got physical.”
A rep for Amazon had no comment Sunday night about Tambor’s statement, though at the time of Barnes’ initial claim a rep for the company told Deadline that the company was investigation the claim and a rep for the company told The Hollywood Reporter last week, in response to Lysette’s statement, that “This information will be added to our ongoing conversation.”
Tambor has won two Emmys for his performances on Transparent, a groundbreaking show about a retired college professor who late in life opens up to his family about being transgender.
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