Rich Fury/Invision/APJeffrey Tambor is officially not returning to Transparent for season five. E! News has confirmed the Emmy winner's exit with Amazon, the home of the acclaimed comedy.
Following sexual misconduct allegations, Tambor previously released a statement alluding to his exit.
"Playing Maura Pfefferman on Transparent has been one of the greatest privileges and creative experiences of my life. What has become clear over the past weeks, however, is that this is no longer the job I signed up for four years ago," Tambor said in November 2017. "I've already made clear my deep regret if any action of mine was ever misinterpreted by anyone as being aggressive, but the idea that I would deliberately harass anyone is simply and utterly untrue. "Given the politicized atmosphere that seems to have afflicted our set, I don't see how I can return to Transparent."
After Tambor's exit was made official, Transparent showrunner Jill Soloway provided a statement to E! News.
"I have great respect and admiration for Van Barnes and Trace Lysette, whose courage in speaking out about their experience on Transparent is an example of the leadership this moment in our culture requires. We are grateful to the many trans people who have supported our vision for Transparent since its inception and remain heartbroken about the pain and mistrust their experience has generated in our community. We are taking definitive action to ensure our workplace respects the safety and dignity of every individual, and are taking steps to heal as a family."
After the statement and headlines about his exit in November, a representative for Tambor said that did not mean he was leaving the series. That's changed.
Tambor's exit comes in the wake of a statement from his Transparent costar Trace Lysette who said Tambor "acted inappropriate to me."
"Jeffrey has made many sexual advances and comments at me, but one time it got physical," she alleged to The Hollywood Reporter. "My back was against the wall in a corner as Jeffrey approached me. He came in close, put his bare feet on top of mine so I could not move, leaned his body against me, and began quick, discreet thrusts back and forth against my body. I felt his penis on my hip through his thin pajamas and I pushed him off of me. Again, I laughed it off and rolled my eyes. I had a job to do and I had to do it with Jeffrey, the lead of our show."
Tambor denied the allegations in a statement to E! News and said he has "never been a predator."
There's no word on how the Amazon series will handle his exit in season five. The cast for the Emmy-winning comedy also includes Judith Light, Gaby Hoffmann, Amy Landecker and Jay Duplass.
Tambor is also poised to appear in the upcoming fifth season of Netflix's Arrested Development.