Netflix cancels Arrested Development's UK promotional tour; cast members apologize to Jessica Walters for Tambor's behaviour
A lot of drama has been going around surrounding Netflix's original hit series Arrested Development - specifically regarding its cast member Jeffrey Member who has been in the news for allegations of sexual harassment against him.
In a recent New York Times cast interview, a debate was sparked that outraged social media right away; in the wake of that Netflix decided to cancel all UK press interviews for the show's upcoming fifth season.
"We had planned to have most of the Arrested Development cast in London this week to support the launch of the new season and meet fans," Netflix said in a statement on Thursday. "At this time we have decided not to move ahead with promotional activity in the UK but hope to bring the cast back at another time."
During the said Times interview, cast member Jessica Walter broke down while opening up about her experience with Tambor's outburst — something that their fellow cast member, Jason Bateman had tried to explain saying 'it's quite common in the industry.'
Tambor was dropped from the Amazon series Transparent after the allegations were slammed at him, but he is still returning for Arrested Development's upcoming fifth season, that arrives on the streaming service on May 29.
"In … almost 60 years of working, I’ve never had anybody yell at me like that on a set," Walter had said in the interview. And coming to Tambor's defense, Bateman said "part of his process." Walter and fellow cast member Alia Shawkat disagreed with him.
But Bateman went on with his explanation, saying: "Again, not to belittle it or excuse it or anything, but in the entertainment industry it is incredibly common to have people who are, in quotes, 'difficult'.
"Because it's a very amorphous process, this sort of [expletive] that we do, you know, making up fake life. It's a weird thing, and it is a breeding ground for atypical behavior, and certain people have certain processes."
Bateman, however, took to Twitter to apologize for his comments: "I sound like I'm condoning yelling at work. I do not. It sounds like I'm excusing Jeffery. I do not. It sounds like I'm insensitive to Jessica, I am not. This is a big learning moment for me. I shouldn't have tried so hard to mansplain, or fix a fight, or make everything OK."
Along those very lines, David Cross, who is also a member of the Arrested Development cast and was involved in the Times discussion, shared his apologies to Walter. In an interview with Gotham, the stand-up comedian said: “I will unequivocally apologize to Jessica. I’m sorry that we behaved the way we behaved.
He also shared his perspective on Tambor's attitude, saying: “I think what Jeffrey did was egregious and there was a little bit of cruelty to it, which I have a real issue with…I’m not going to defend what Jeffrey did at all, because I would never do that. I’ve never seen anybody do that to that level and that’s just not right. There’s just no excuse for behaving like that."
