F. Murray Abraham plays family patriarch Bert Di Grasso in HBO’s “The White Lotus” season 2. Picture: Fabio Lovino/HBO
F Murray Abraham has issued a “sincere and deeply felt apology” after claims he was fired from an Apple TV+ series over two complaints of alleged sexual misconduct.
The Oscar-winner, 83, famed for his recent role in “White Lotus”, had been playing chief video game writer C W Longbottom in “Mythic Quest”, but unexpectedly quit in April 2022 between its second and third seasons and has now addressed a report by Rolling Stone that said he was sacked after “at least two concerns were raised” about his behaviour.
He said in a statement to ComingSoon: “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.
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“I have grown in my understanding from this experience, and I hope they will forgive me.”
Rolling Stone reported: “The first incident resulted in Abraham being given a warning and told to keep away from some of the show’s actresses, according to a production source.
“After a second incident was brought to creator and star Rob McElhenney’s attention, Rolling Stone understands that Abraham was let go from the show.”
Show producer Lionsgate said in a statement to the magazine: “We take allegations of misconduct seriously and investigate them thoroughly.
“As a matter of corporate policy, we do not discuss our personnel actions.”
Rolling Stone added that dad-of-two Abraham – whose wife Kate Hannan died last year after a long battle with multiple sclerosis – did not return requests for comment, “nor did McElhenney, the show’s other creators, and lead actresses”.
It is still unclear who apparently made the allegations against the star.
Born Murray Abraham, he was killed off from “Mythic Quest” in the premiere of season three, which aired in November, with his character driving off a cliff into the Grand Canyon in a Thunderbird after he was diagnosed with a terminal illness.
McElhenney, 46, told Variety around the time his exit from the show was revealed: “It’s a bummer to not have Murray in this season.
“But we recognise 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.”