Update: 6th April 2016 Ricky Whittle has finally come forward and discusses his exit.
Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
Speaking with AfterBuzz TV on Tuesday night, Ricky Whittle — whose fan-favorite character, Lincoln, was killed on May 31 — revealed that it was his choice to depart the CW drama, but only because he felt it was his only option.
“At the beginning of the season, [Lincoln] had a whole storyline that was cut, that was just non-existent,” he revealed, alleging that showrunner Jason Rothenberg “abused his position to make my job untenable. What he did was disgusting and he should be ashamed. … He was professionally bullying me, cutting out all the storyline I was supposed to be doing, cutting lines, cutting everything out, trying to make my character and myself as insignificant as possible.”
And Whittle takes issue with more than just Lincoln’s storyline. He noted that Lexa was “too incredible a character to be caught by a stray bullet,” and that turning Pike into a villain has “taken away from his complexity.”
Despite his strong feelings about the show’s direction, as well as his own character’s mistreatment, Whittle encouraged fans not to give up on The 100:
“You still have to remember we have a bisexual lead [in Eliza Taylor’s Clarke], we have Bryan and Miller, we have various black characters who are in power, we have powerful women. Literally, the show has everything, so stay with it. Stay with my family. Stay with my friends.”
“At the beginning of the season, [Lincoln] had a whole storyline that was cut, that was just non-existent,” he revealed, alleging that showrunner Jason Rothenberg “abused his position to make my job untenable. What he did was disgusting and he should be ashamed. … He was professionally bullying me, cutting out all the storyline I was supposed to be doing, cutting lines, cutting everything out, trying to make my character and myself as insignificant as possible.”
And Whittle takes issue with more than just Lincoln’s storyline. He noted that Lexa was “too incredible a character to be caught by a stray bullet,” and that turning Pike into a villain has “taken away from his complexity.”
Despite his strong feelings about the show’s direction, as well as his own character’s mistreatment, Whittle encouraged fans not to give up on The 100:
“You still have to remember we have a bisexual lead [in Eliza Taylor’s Clarke], we have Bryan and Miller, we have various black characters who are in power, we have powerful women. Literally, the show has everything, so stay with it. Stay with my family. Stay with my friends.”
Source:
Original Article - 3rd March 2016
Thanks to jany for sending these in.
This is the twitter handle of Ricky Whittle's mother. Make what you will of these tweets.
Finally got full story from my son,@JRothenbergTV should be ashamed! Disgusting behaviour from grown man & one in 'power to an honest person
— mags whittle (@magster53) March 2, 2016
Even as a boy Rick always stood up for himself & others against bullies, I'm proud he continued this trend & glad karma rewarded him
— mags whittle (@magster53) March 2, 2016
I hope he shares the sad truth so u all understand why he had to walk away. Nobody should have to deal with bullies alone, talk to someone.
— mags whittle (@magster53) March 2, 2016
