The Rookie fans are curious to know why Afton Williamson decided to leave the show after Season 1. Her character Talia Bishop was one of the most significant presences in the show and her exit impacted Nolan greatly as he lost another one of his allies. Fans have thus been wondering what prompted the writers to let go of the beloved character.
Here’s everything we know about why Afton Williamson’s Talia Bishop left The Rookie.
Why was Afton Williamson’s Talia Bishop written out of The Rookie?
Afton Williamson left The Rookie after stating that she was subjected to “racial discrimination, bullying, and sexual harassment” on the sets of the show.
Talia Bishop was one of the main characters in the debut season of The Rookie, but following the allegations, she was written out of the show at the beginning of Season 2. Williamson announced her departure from the show via an Instagram post on August 4, 2019. She penned a note revealing that she faced discrimination and bullying from the show’s hair department and executive producers.
“I will not be returning for Season 2 of The Rookie. I owe it to you my amazing fans to share the Truth. Throughout the filming of the pilot, I experienced Racial Discrimination/Racially Charged inappropriate comments from the hair department and bullying from Executive Producers. During the Season, it continued along with Sexual Harassment from a recurring guest star, Demetrius Grosse, and the racist commentary & bullying from the Hair Dept. Head, Sally Ciganovich escalated into Sexual Assault at our Wrap party,” she wrote.
Williamson further stated that following the experience, she had reported the harassment to The Rookie’s showrunner. However, the complaint failed to reach HR and it “remained undocumented.”
Addressing the issue, the lead studio Entertainment One stated that ABC and eOne have initiated a third-party investigation. Soon after, EW reported that the investigation did not fall in Williamson’s favor. The statement read, “Those identified in Ms. Williamson’s allegations did not conduct themselves in an unlawful manner or demonstrate behavior inappropriate for the workplace.”
Williamson did not seem happy with how the investigation turned out. On September 18, 2019, she shared a follow-up post on Instagram reflecting her disappointment. Since then, she has not shared more posts there and her last acting credit remains 2020’s Still Here.
