Afton Williamson, star of the ABC crime series “The Rookie,” says she’s quitting the show because of sexual harassment and racial discrimination she experienced during the show’s first season.
In an Instagram post Sunday, Williamson said throughout the filming of the show’s pilot, “I experienced racial discrimination/racially charged inappropriate comments from the hair department.” She said the treatment worsened when she was sexually harassed by a recurring guest star, bullied by executive producers and ultimately was sexually assaulted by a crew member at a wrap party.
Representatives for ABC did not respond to messages Sunday.
A representative for Williamson didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking further details on the actress’s claims, or whether the alleged sexual assault was reported to the police.
Williamson also was highly critical of how her claims were handled by showrunner and executive producer Alexi Hawley. Williamson said she filed reports on the incidents but they weren’t seriously investigated by the network or shared by Hawley with other producers.
“After my initial report of sexual harassment, I was assured that the actor would be fired,” said Williamson of the guest star. “I was also asked to film with him the very next day as a courtesy to the script, even though we had not begun filming the episode yet.”
Representatives for Hawley didn’t immediately respond to messages Sunday.
Williamson co-starred in the Los Angeles-based ABC drama, a co-production between ABC Studios and Entertainment One. In the show, Nathan Fillion stars as a rookie police officer.
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