Clayne Crawford Breaks Silence on ‘Lethal Weapon’ Firing & Those Recordings
It’s been four months since Clayne Crawford was fired from the Fox police drama Lethal Weapon, and he’s still not over it.
During an conversation on the Drinkin’ Bros podcast, Crawford told his side of the story and specifically spoke about the two incidents when he used explicit language while complaining to the assistant director about the noise level around the set and fought with co-star Damon Wayans. Both audio recordings were obtained by Variety.
“I knew that they had those tapes, and they had been blackmailing me with them… anytime I had a problem with [Wayans],” Crawford said. “When the incident happened, I had to pay half of my salary for that episode, I had to spend six weeks in anger management every day on my lunch break, and I had to be escorted to and from set by a security guard, so it was humiliating.”
Problems with his co-star Wayans reportedly included outbursts, Wayans getting hurt on set and reportedly refusing to attend table reads and shoot at certain locations.
There were also rumors that Crawford yelled at kids who were making noise near the set during his taped outburst which he called a “blatant f**king lie…”
“Clearly I’m yelling at the guy whose job it is to get the set quiet,” he explained. “And here’s the thing: Did I make a poor choice? Absolutely, and I felt embarrassed in the moment because I was belligerent… We’d been shooting a three-page scene for eight hours, okay? We were so behind, and we continued to try and shoot through all of this noise… We stopped production over seven times. I called my agent, we were writing emails, we were phoning everyone we could to try and help us resolve the situation. No one would come in, no one would help us… So I shot all of my coverage in between the sounds.”
Then, a second recording was released of a profanity-laden argument between Wayans and Crawford. “I did not expect that tape to come out,” Crawford admitted.
“That was the episode I was directing… On Damon’s first or second day… he called in sick, which, he never called in sick. [He] comes back to work the next day and he’s shooting hoops. And I was like, ‘Are you feeling better?’ and he was like, ‘Come on, bro. Everybody needed a day off.’”
Crawford also stood behind the fact that he was never got a phone all from Warner Bros. firing him. The only phone her received was from studio president Peter Roth. Crawford says, “He said, ‘Clayne, I can’t promise you that I can save your job, but what I can tell you is that you have to make a public announcement apologizing, publicly, to Damon Wayans.’”
“I was like, ‘What the f**k? Peter, why would I apologize publicly because he and I had a riff on set?’ And he’s like, ‘Clayne, that statement alone tells me you don’t want to come back… If I were you, I’d look your children in the eyes, and I’d look your wife in the eyes, and you need to make a decision.’”
Lethal Weapon has since replaced Crawford with Seann William Scott, who plays Wesley Cole, and Murtaugh’s (Wayans) new partner.
Lethal Weapon, Season 3 Premiere, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 9/8c, Fox
Conversation10 Comments
Please read the TV Insider Community Guidelines.
Comments are closed on this story.
-
C
It was Waynes who refused to attend table reads and shoot at certain locations, not Crawford.
5
-
G
Agreed. And the rest of the cast seemed to defend Clayne when all of this blew up.
Wayans should have been shown the door for being a prima donna.
I have no plans to watch American Lethal Pie.
5
-
P
Absolutely. Another case of a prima donna tittybaby wanting special treatment. Crawford was there to get the work done. Wayans was there for the drama. Never a good combination. But the most HUGE FAIL in the whole situation was a Studio, showrunner (or whoever is in charge in these situations) not getting a handle on it early on and nipping it in the bud!
3
-
-
B
What a colossal tool this Clayne person is!! I never watched the show – never will – but he sure comes across as a pure puddle of primordial ooze!!
Never heard of him before this trainwreck of a show started and I hope I never have to hear about him again – GO FLIP BURGERS AT IN & OUT, LOSER!!
2
-
P
Irony that he'd appear on 'Drinkin' Bros' podcast when his refusal to deal with his substance abuse was also a big part of what cost him his job. He really behaved badly and lost a great opportunity.
-
C
You...do realize that he likely got paid multiple millions, thus having more cash than you ever will...right?
-
-
C
Yeah, well, good job FOX on shooting yourself in the knee. Pulled a real Martin Riggs there. You can't replace an amazing actor like Crawford with a bearded Stifler.
1
-
B
Ironically, it was Clayne and Damon’s chemistry that kept me glued to that show. Specifically, it was the adorable personality of Clayne that made me love the show so much.
So what did he do? He dared to disagree with the mighty Wayans crew?! Pathetic. I love that family and most of their entertainment projects. Shame on you Damon for using your power and influence to lord over others!
I watched the new season’s opener unaware of any of the troubles behind the scenes. I kept expecting, throughout the entire episode, for the main star — Griggs to appear. It was after that episode that I Googled Clayne and found out he had been fired.
What did they replace that iconic repertoire between Damon and Clayne with? More chases, more beatings, and more gunfire.
I hated it.
So I’m through.
1
-
P
I agree.. the chemistry between Wayans and Clayne was terrific. I watched the new show with Cole and the fun chemistry it Not there. What a mistake for 2 Divas especially Wayans to cause the break-up of a fun show!
1
-
-
R
Its takes two to cause confusion he even acting since swinfan in 92 I hope he and his family will be ok it's not good to lose your job and have a wife and children
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services