Clayne Crawford fired from Lethal Weapon
The drama behind the scenes of Fox’s Lethal Weapon adaptation took a strange turn in 2018, becoming even more intense than the gunfights and turmoil that played out in the second season of the series. It all started back in April with reports of misconduct levelled against star Clayne Crawford. At the time, it was reported that he had been reprimanded for his behavior on set, which included acting out in anger. At that time, Crawford took to social media to apologize for two incidents on the show’s set. He also admitted to participating in studio-appointed therapy and, at the request of Warner Bros. TV, sharing a portion of his paycheck with someone involved.
A month later, it was reported that Crawford was fired from the show and that producers were looking to cast a new lead to take over in Season 3. Additionally, a pair of videos released by Variety after the firing showed a very contentious relationship between Crawford and his co-lead Damon Wayans.
In the end, actor Seann William Scott was hired to join Wayans for Season 3 as a new character, but even that wasn’t the end of the drama. First, Crawford appeared on a podcast, in which he claimed to have been blackmailed to stay quiet about the issues between himself and Wayans, among many other allegations. Then, in October, Wayans announced he would be leaving the show after production of Season 3 came to an end. In an interview with Electronic Urban Report, Wayans said the show’s schedule was too much for him. “It’s hard for me to play this loving, supportive father/husband/friend on TV, but be the guy in life that is telling everyone, ‘I can’t I have to work,'” he explained.
As for what happens now, neither Fox or Warner Bros. TV has commented on the future of the show. So it’s entirely possible this particular controversy is nowhere near over. — Chris E. Hayner
