Lena Waithe Addresses Jason Mitchell’s Firing from The Chi After Misconduct Claims

The Chi creator Lena Waithe spoke out about the misconduct allegations against Jason Mitchell that resulted in the actor’s firing from her Showtime series on Tuesday’s episode of The Breakfast Club.

Reports of Mitchell’s dismissal from earlier this month detailed multiple sexual harassment accusations made by Tiffany Boone, who played Mitchell’s girlfriend on the series, and season two showrunner Ayanna Floyd Davis.

Waithe told the radio show that she received word of Mitchell’s alleged misconduct after the first season of The Chi wrapped. Waithe brought on Davis for the second season to try to create an environment where the women on set felt safe.

Davis explained in a statement to THR that Waithe initially informed her of the issues between Mitchell and Boone, and it was Davis’ idea to bring it to HR and develop presentations for the writers, cast and crew about inappropriate behavior on set. At that point, “everyone was well-aware of Jason’s behavior,” she stated.

Davis noted she soon became a target of his “rage and inappropriateness,” and had to report him to HR herself.

Despite the multiple attempts to quell Mitchell’s alleged misbehavior, it persisted, Waithe said. The creator went as far as to tell Mitchell personally he needed to be more respectful of women on set.

Waithe told the radio show she wished she would’ve handled the situation differently, stating: “Because even though he’s an actor on a show of mine, his behavior is also a representation of me, and I can’t have that. I can’t have you out here acting crazy if you’re on my show because it bears my name.”

In addition to being fired from The Chi, Mitchell’s misconduct led to Netflix ousting the actor from its forthcoming comedy Desperados, and his agency and management cutting ties with him.

Listen to Waithe’s interview on The Breakfast Club below.