Jeffrey Tambor Officially Fired From ‘Transparent’ Amidst Harassment Claims

Jeffrey Tambor has been officially fired from Transparent in the wake of sexual harassment claims and a subsequent internal investigation by Amazon Studios.

The retail and streaming giant confirmed the news Thursday, noting that it had completed its internal investigation into the actor, who received critical praise for his role on the series as transgender woman Maura Pfefferman.

Tambor will have no role in the upcoming fifth season of the Jill Soloway-created series, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“I have great respect and admiration for Van Barnes and Trace Lysette, whose courage in speaking out about their experience on Transparent is an example of the leadership this moment in our culture requires,” Soloway said in a statement Thursday. “We are grateful to the many trans people who have supported our vision for Transparent since its inception and remain heartbroken about the pain and mistrust their experience has generated in our community. We are taking definitive action to ensure our workplace respects the safety and dignity of every individual, and are taking steps to heal as a family.”

The news comes after a November statement from Tambor, who faced multiple allegations of sexual harassment, in which he said he didn’t see himself coming back to the series.

At the time, sources told THR that while Tambor hinted that he was leaving Transparent, he never outright said he was exiting the show. Amazon Studios, who own and produce the Soloway series, had been investigating the actor and has now made its official decision that the actor will not have any role in the series going forward.

Transparent castmember Trace Lysette previously said that Tambor sexually harassed her on multiple occasions, claiming he “got physical” in one instance. After the alleged physical assault, which took place on set, Lysette said she felt like she was being targeted and sexually harassed by Tambor. Working with the actor “has been a roller coaster. One minute Jeffrey is lovely, the next it’s a temper tantrum or flirtation,” she said.

Tambor, in a statement, acknowledged that he can be “volatile and ill-tempered” to work with, “but I have never been a predator — ever.”

Lysette was the second transgender actress to go public with misconduct allegations against Tambor. His former assistant, transgender actress Van Barnes, accused the actor of behaving in a sexually inappropriate manner in a private social media post. Amazon immediately launched an investigation into the Transparent star on Nov. 8.

The Transparent writing staff, sources say, began reworking the upcoming fifth season following news of the first allegation against Tambor as the series mulled refocusing the show without its star. Transparent was renewed for a fifth cycle ahead of season four’s debut. The new season was set to begin production and premiere this year.