Even though 'The Chi' creator acknowledges the actor's effort to improve his behavior, she makes it clear that she doesn't want to align herself with him due to the allegations leveled against him.
- November 21, 2019
AceShowbiz - Writer and actress Lena Waithe won't be working with former "The Chi" star Jason Mitchell any time soon after he was fired from the show amid misconduct allegations.
Earlier this year, Mitchell was cut from Waithe's TV drama and from the cast of Netflix movie "Desperados" amid claims of inappropriate behaviour, which led to him being dropped by his talent agents and managers.
The "Straight Outta Compton" star recently proclaimed his innocence, insisting he did nothing wrong, although he issued a public apology for anything he may have said or done to make anyone feel uneasy.
Waithe acknowledges Mitchell's efforts to improve his behaviour, but insists her priority has to be ensuring the safety of her cast and crew on set, so she can't see herself collaborating with him at present.
"I'm for the people - I'm for black women. I'm a person who is all about supporting us and making sure we're good and we feel safe," she shared on New York radio show "The Breakfast Club".
"I couldn't then have a whole conversation with you and then still be like, 'Oh yeah, if he (Mitchell) ever wanted some (work), it's all good.' To me, it's also about changing your behaviour... I can't align myself with someone who's (faced misconduct allegations)."
Instead, Waithe chose to learn from the situation, and has since hired "intimacy co-ordinators" for sensitive scenes on every project she's involved in.
"For me, I feel like I've grown so much from it and I've evolved so much because of it," she explained.
"To me, it's like, I'm supposed to take hits (as the showrunner)... but it makes me stronger, it makes me more educated. Like, I've educated myself so much about what it means to have a safe set... so for me, it really opened up my eyes. It was a lesson that I welcome with open arms."
