Adam Baldwin Slammed After Comment About ‘The Rookie’ Star Afton Williamson Quitting Show, Alleging Sexual Harassment, Racism, and Bullying

Adam Baldwin found himself in the line of fire after making a controversial comment about actress Afton Williamson’s sexual harassment claims. The Rookie star came forward with claims she was the subject of inappropriate behavior and racial bullying on the set of the ABC show, according to TV Line, but Baldwin wasn’t quick to believe it.

On Sunday, the actor retweeted TV Guide‘s reporting on the matter, questioning the validity of Williamson’s claims. He wondered whether authorities had been made aware of the situation, which didn’t sit well with some Twitter users.

Before long, his replies were flooded with backlash.

“not surprised at all by this tweet, you’ve always been garbage,” one person tweeted.

“Police reports for the racism and bullying too? I was actually a fan up until this tweet. Disgusting. This is why women are afraid to speak up. So you’re basically calling her a liar?” another Twitter user replied.

“You could add this tweet to your CV, surely they can find you a place to work in the [White House].Or you could work for Harvey [Weinstein] right?” a third person wrote in part.

“How disgusting, this is why women doesn’t speak up when they should have to. Proud of empowered women that are not afraid to say the things that need to be said,” another critic chimed in on Twitter.

“Are you serious right now? We should TRUST our employers to keep the work environment a safe place w/out having to get law enforcement involved. You’re basically telling every woman who doesn’t file a police report they’re lying about abuse, sexual harassment/assault or bullying,” someone else added.

ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke talked about Williamson’s sexual harassment claims during the Television Critics Assocation summer press tour on Monday, as noted by TV Line. She admitted that at this time, she had no answers about how ABC intends to move forward.

“I don’t have a lot of answers. I wish I had more,” she said. “I learned alongside my colleagues at the end of June that there were allegations and that an investigation had been launched by eOne.”

Burke continued, “Right now too much is unknown; It would be irresponsible of me to conjecture.”

Williamson will not be returning to The Rookie for Season 2. She played training officer Talia Bishop on the show, co-starring alongside Nathan Fillion. She announced her departure on Instagram on Aug. 4, alleging that she “experienced racial discrimination/racially charged inappropriate comments from the hair department” all throughout filming, as well as sexual harassment from a recurring guest star whom she did not name.

She also alleged that bullying from the hair department head got worse as production went on, escalating to a sexual assault at the Season 1 wrap party. The hair department head has been fired, according to TV Line, but Williamson claimed that after a meeting with showrunner Alexi Hawley, two other producers and her agent, she learned that “the showrunner had not shared my reports with any of the producers….. HR protocol was never adhered to following the above reports given by my to my showrunner/EP, and an investigation was never issued for any of my claims.”

Williamson said that while she was told “everything was handled,” she learned during a June meeting that “The investigation hadn’t even begun and Season 2 had already started filming.” As a result, she said, “I walked” instead of returning to the show.