Matthew Morrison opens up on his SYTYCD exit rumors
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Matthew Morrison | CREDIT: MIKE YARISH/FOX
Matthew Morrison of Glee recently made headlines when he announced his departure from the judges’ panel of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) Season 17.
Matthew Morrison had previously announced his departure, citing concerns with the production team. Their protocols as the reason for his departure. Soon after, the internet was awash in rumors and speculation, one of which was that Morrison had been dismissed. According to the story, Matthew Morrison was allegedly asked to leave after sending a “flirty” and inappropriate text message to a dancer.
The 43-year-old Broadway star recently clarified the matter in an Instagram video. He put an end to the rumours by reading the text message in the video.
“The communications were flirtatious and featured sexual innuendos to the point where he was overstepping bounds,” the insider claims. “He didn’t have sex with the contestant. But she complained to the producers about his texts, which made her feel uncomfortable and embarrassed, and they took it to HR.”
In the Instagram video, what did Matthew Morrison say?
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In the Instagram video, Matthew Morrison maintained that he had nothing to conceal. And that the rumors that he was fired because of a flirting message were “blatantly wrong.”
He remarked in the video that it’s “very sad” that he has to defend himself and his family against anonymously made patently false accusations. “So, in the interest of honesty, I’ll read you the one note I wrote to one of the show’s dancers.”
He said, reading the alleged message, “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to get your phone number and chat to you about some things.”
It was addressed to a dancer who had “mutual regard for a choreographer” for over 20 years. As a result, he called her to assist her in landing a choreographer position on SYTYCD.
In a statement posted by People, the Tony Award-nominated actor revealed his departure from SYTYCD. “I did not follow competition production protocols after recording the audition rounds for the show and finishing the selection of the 12 finalists, prohibiting me from being able to judge the competition properly,” it said. He said that he sincerely apologizes to everyone involved.
According to Entertainment Weekly, pre-recorded episodes starring the Glee alum will air throughout June. During the second half of the current season, a replacement will supposedly be brought in. Morrison was brought in to replace Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy. There are newcomers JoJo Siwa and Stephen “tWitch” Boss, on the dance competition series.
This season of SYTYCD included a new judging panel
The judges’ panel for Season 17 of SYTYCD was completely overhauled. Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe used to be regulars on the show, but they’ve been replaced by JoJo Siwa and Stephen “tWitch” Boss. The new panel also included Matthew Morrison.
SYTYCD Season 17 premieres a new episode every Wednesday at 9.00 PM ET on Fox, hosted by Cat Deeley.
Ankita Khanrah
Ankita Khanrah is a second-year student of the Master of Communication and Journalism (Integrated) programme at the School of Mass Communication, KIIT Deemed University, Bhubaneswar.
