Ricky Whittle may be gone from The 100.
But he is not going quietly.
In an unusual move, the actor – whose character of Lincoln was executed on The 100 Season 3 Episode 9 last week – has spoken at length about his departure from the show, laying serious blame at the feet of executive producer Jason Rothenberg.
“Controversial, so here we go,” Whittle began his interview with Afterbuzz TV before getting into the meat of his issues:
“Lincoln wasn’t supposed to die this season. He had a whole storyline that was cut, that was just nonexistent. It was my choice to go.”
Whittle went on to say that he adores The 100 cast and crew… but he made the choice to leave The CW drama due to how he believed he and his character were being treated.
“Jason Rothenberg abused his position to make my job untenable,” Whittle said plainly of the show’s executive producer.
“What he did was disgusting and he should be ashamed. He was professionally bullying me, cutting out all the storyline that I was supposed to be doing, cutting lines, trying to make my character and myself as insignificant as possible to the point where it was starting to get me down.
“Every time a script would come through, I would see literally nothing for Lincoln.”
You can watch the full, revealing interview with Whittle below:
Whittle explains that he actually wanted to leave last year, but was talked into staying by CW executives, who he has nothing but praise for.
It’s Rothenberg who was “belittling myself and my character, and jeopardizing the show,” he says, adding:
“He made me walk away from something I really loved. I love the show, I love Lincoln, I love that cast and crew. He forced me to make that choice to walk away, and I’m proud I did it. I stood up and said enough’s enough. My personal well being is more important than this.”
Damn. Strong words.
You can watch The 100 online via our friends at TV Fanatic to see how Lincoln was killed off.
In response to his former star’s scathing critique, Rothenberg took the high road and released a statement that simply reads:
“Ricky Whittle is a talented actor; I appreciate his work on The 100 and wish him all the best moving forward on American Gods.”
