After allegations of sexual harassment against Emmy winner Jeffrey Tambor surfaced, the writers and producers of Amazon Studios‘ Transparent are trying to figure out how to move the show forward without him, even if it means killing Maura Pfefferman.
Sources told The Hollywood Reporter Friday that the show’s writers have just begun writing the fifth season, which was scheduled to debut in late 2018. Creator Jill Soloway is now open to figuring out how Transparent can stay alive without Tambor.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Soloway is even open to a death on the show.
Amazon Studios began an internal investigation into Tambor’s behavior Nov. 8, when former assistant Van Barnes accused Tambor of sexual harassment.
A week later, Transparent actress Trace Lysette, told The Hollywood Reporter that the 73-year-old Tambor “made many sexual advances and comments at me, but one time it got physical.”
“Last week, it was reported in the media that Van Barnes, who previously worked as Jeffrey Tambor‘s assistant while shooting Transparent, had privately spoken out on her social media about her experiences of abuse,” Lysette said. “Sadly, I must add my voice to the chorus. Jeffrey has acted inappropriate to me too.”
In a response to THR, Tambor said he can be “volatile and ill-tempered,” but said he is not a “predator.”
“I am deeply sorry if any action of mine was ever misinterpreted by anyone as being sexually aggressive or if I ever offended or hurt anyone,” Tambor said. “But the fact is, for all my flaws, I am not a predator and the idea that someone might see me in that way is more distressing than I can express.”
Since Amazon Studios began producing its own content, Transparent has been its only stand-out series and has been considered a groundbreaking show. Tambor stars as Maura Phefferman, a retired professor who is transgender, and focuses on her family’s reaction to the news.
In 2015, the series won the Golden Globe for Best TV Series – Comedy/Musical and Best Actor – Comedy/Musical for Tambor. Tambor also won back-to-back Emmys in 2015 and 2016, and Soloway did the same for her direction.
“Don’t let the trans community suffer for the actions of one cis male actor,” Lysette told THR in her statement. “Transparent has been a guiding light in the industry, by employing more trans people in Hollywood than any other production in history, which made it even more difficult to speak out.”
Our Lady J, a writer on the show, agreed with Lysette.
“Thank you for your leadership, Trace,” Our Lady J wrote on Instagram. “Thank you for speaking up. And thank you for your proposed solution at the end of your statement. You are right — we cannot let trans content be taken down by a single cis man.”
