American Gods star Orlando Jones claims he was fired from show over race: 'This white man sits in that decision-making chair'
Producer denies actor’s accusations, saying his character was removed for storyline reasons
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.American Gods star Orlando Jones has claimed he was fired from the show because his character was sending “the wrong message for black America”, an accusation that producers have denied.
In a video posted on Twitter, the actor made public his exit from the Amazon fantasy series based on Neil Gaiman’s novels.
“I’m not going to name names but the new season three showrunner is Connecticut born and Yale-educated, so he’s very smart and he thinks that Mr. Nancy’s angry, get shit done is the wrong message for black America,” said Jones.
“This white man sits in that decision-making chair and I’m sure he has many black BFFs who are his advisors and made it clear to him that if he did not get rid of that angry god Mr Nancy he’d start a Denmark Vesey uprising in this country. I mean, what else could it be?”
Production company Fremantle then told Deadline: “The storylines of American Gods have continually shifted and evolved to reflect the complex mythology of the source material.
“Mr Jones’ option was not picked up because Mr Nancy, among other characters, is not featured in the portion of the book we are focusing on within season three.”
Jones served as a writer and producer on the second season of the show, as well as starring in it as fan favourite Mr Nancy.
American Gods season three will air on Amazon Prime in 2020.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments