What does Wendi McLendon-Covey want fans of her sitcom The Goldbergs to know? "We're doing our best."
It's been a rough few months for the ABC comedy. In December, Jeff Garlin—who played McLendon-Covey's onscreen husband Murray–left The Goldbergs after multiple complaints about his behavior on set resulted in an HR investigation. And now, McLendon-Covey, who portrays family matriarch Beverly, is finally weighing in on the 59-year-old actor's exit.
The actress responded on Twitter after journalist Noel Murray tweeted a clip from the show, writing, "they should either cancel The Goldbergs or kill off Jeff Garlin's character because the workarounds they've been using this season ain't working."
McClendon-Covey replied: "This season threw us for a loop because a.) it's hard to incorporate someone who doesn't want to be there and wants to leave mid-scene, and b.) we werent about to re-write the 2nd half of the season. We're doing our best."
The Goldbergs—which first premiered in 2013—is currently in its ninth season. Since Garlin's departure, the series has superimposed his face into some scenes and has used a body double. At the time of his exit, the actor was believed to have had one more day of shooting left, according to Deadline.
Before he left the show, Garlin addressed the misconduct allegations in an interview with Vanity Fair in December 2021, explaining that his jokes were "misconstrued" and that "nothing physical" happened.
"I'm on a comedy show," Garlin said at the time. "I am always a kind and thoughtful person. I make mistakes, sure. But my comedy is about easing people's pain. Why would I ever want to cause pain in anybody for a laugh? That's bullying. That's just uncalled for."
"If I said something silly and offensive, and I'm working at an insurance company, I think it's a different situation," the actor continued. "If I, as the star of the show, demanded a gun range and on set, and I was firing guns every day and I was a little bit loose—to me, that's an unsafe work atmosphere. If I threatened people, that's an unsafe work atmosphere. None of that goes on ever with me."
The Goldbergs, which airs Wednesdays on ABC, has not yet been renewed for a 10th season.