Netflix Cancels ‘Arrested Development’ U.K. Press Tour After Jeffrey Tambor Backlash
The May 29 Season 5 premiere of Arrested Development is still days away but the cast is continuing to deal with some major backlash and controversy.
On May 23, the cast including Jason Bateman, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Tony Hale, David Cross, and Alia Shawkat sat down for one cringe-worthy interview. During the sit down with The New York Times, the interviewer broached the topic of Tambor’s on set behavior, in particular his verbal harassment.
The exchange left Jessica Walter in tears, and the male costars garnered major online backlash for their defense of Tambor and lack thereof for Jessica Walter, whom many labeled as the victim.
“In like almost 60 years of working, I’ve never had anybody yell at me like that on a set,” Walter said through tears in the interview.
Since the backlash surrounding this occurence, Netflix has announced that it has canceled the show’s upcoming U.K. press tour and released a statement about the matter.
“We had planned to have most of the Arrested Development cast in London this week to support the launch of the new season and meet fans,” said Netflix in a statement made Thursday. “At this time we have decided not to move ahead with promotional activity in the U.K. but hope to bring the cast back at another time.”
While Jason Bateman and Tony Hale have released statements apologizing to their costar Walter, Tambor himself has yet to make a public acknowledgment. David Cross is the most recent costar to address the situation in a short tweet and interview with gothamist.
“I have been off Twitter at the behest of my wife. I have apologized to Jessica in private (the way I prefer to conduct apologies to people),” Cross wrote. “I do not have a PR firm repping me. I hope this interview I did earlier is edifying on at least a tiny level.”
I have been off Twitter at the behest of my wife. I have apologized to Jessica in private (the way I prefer to conduct apologies to people). I do not have a PR firm repping me. I hope this interview I did earlier is edifying on at least a tiny level. https://t.co/gXVgmJkdfj
—) ))David Cross(( ((@davidcrosss) May 24, 2018
As the cast continues to recover from the fallout of the May 23 NYT interview, Netflix hasn’t indicated any further changes to the promotional schedule apart from the U.K. cancellation.
Arrested Development, Season 5, May 29, Netflix
