Source: Frazer Harrison / Getty
Jason Mitchell is finally speaking up in an interview after he was accused of misconduct in several instances while on the job.
The actor went on “The Breakfast Club” to tell his side of the story after he was dropped from the Netflix movie “Desperados” and the Showtime series “The Chi”. He was also dropped from his talent agency and representation, UTA. Considering the harsh actions from these companies, many people assumed the “misconduct” involved severe misbehavior on Jason’s part. However, on “The Breakfast Club,” he made it seem less serious.
First, Mitchell said he was let go from “Desperados” because he took a drunk co-worker home. He said he feels like he didn’t do or say anything to make his co-worker feel uncomfortable and he says he even FaceTimed her boyfriend to figure out how to get her home. Then the next day, he said people involved with the film questioned him about the “activity” that went on between him and his coworker, but they weren’t “specific” with him. “I was a little baffled by that, but they did pay me in full before I left.”
He then went on to apologize if he ever made anyone feel uncomfortable and he said a “series of events” might have led to a “weird” working relationship between him and his co-worker. “That was never my intention to make anybody feel any sort of way,” he said. “You know I definitely never put my hands on somebody or anything like that. But I think it was just sort of a series of events that led to things kind of being weird between us.”
Mitchell then went on to say that he was dropped from UTA because most of the people working on the Netflix movie were represented by the agency, so they felt obligated to drop him from the production.
Mitchell further claimed that there was “no situation” between him and his “The Chi” co-star Tiffany Boone, however, there was conflict between the showrunner of Season 2, Ayanna Floyd Davis. Mitchell argued that Boone never made a public statement confirming that allegations of misconduct towards her were true. It was more so Floyd Davis who spoke about misconduct allegations. Mitchell says he believes Floyd Davis did this because she was fired from the show after he told HR about an inappropriate comment Floyd made to him about him possibly retreating home to “self-medicate” after his close friend died. Mitchell says Floyd Davis approached him after he contacted HR, which possibly led to her firing.
As for Boone, Mitchell said:
“She’s the epitome of a Black woman. She has no kids, she’s super successful, and if you try her, she will get you together right then and there, you know what I mean?” Mitchell told DJ Envy and Charlamagne Tha God. “She not taking nothing, at all. I encourage people to be more like that, because had me and Tiffany ever had a situation where I don’t know, she might have felt sexually harassed, I can bet my bottom dollar, she would have told me about myself in that moment.”
Despite Mitchell’s account, “The Chi” creator Lena Waithe said she was told by Boone of “inappropriate” behavior from Mitchell. Waithe said she responded by bringing in Floyd Davis, another Black woman, and she had hoped this would change the culture on set. Waithe also claimed that she tried to mediate any situation between Mitchell and Boone, but Mitchell said this never happened between the three of them.
“There wasn’t any workshops that went along with that, but at the beginning of everything, they always do an HR workshop,” he said. “That’s for pretty much every production. I believe every production does this. They have someone come in and they teach you all about the workplace. Teach you how you’re supposed to handle people and talk to people and all this. So there was no actual workshops between us.”
Although Boone didn’t publicly confirm misconduct incidents with Mitchell, he did tell The Breakfast Club that they didn’t get along that well:
“Me and Tiffany have never really been the best of friends. So Season 1, maybe episode 3 or 4, we just told each other, we just have a work relationship. We don’t have to laugh, kick it, skate, none of that…me and Tiffany have our different views on things and that’s pretty much all it is.”
Mitchell seemed to place most of the blame on Floyd Davis, although he did admit that his anger might have gotten the best of him and Floyd Davis might’ve felt “threatened” by this.
“I might have unintentionally sort of intimidated her and I can take that L,” Mitchell said. “For me I can definitely take my L and say, I could have handled that better. There was a time where I could have just walked off. I didn’t have to say anything to her, I didn’t have to respond.”
Mitchell then went on to confess that he might have anger management issues based on how he grew up in New Orleans:
“I grew up in a very violent city. That’s really all I know. I feel like Black men especially when trauma happens to us, we don’t think it’s okay to go to therapy. We don’t think it’s okay to hug each other. Sometimes a lot of us think it’s not okay to cry. And as a result, we come off very rough, very aggressive. We a little rough around the edges. It’s a cycle. So I figured, this is the best way for me to work on myself. I’ve been working with this doctor, Tamika Bobb, who’s amazing. She’s just a really great person and allowing me to talk about all that I’ve been through. People ask me all of the time, ‘Jason, where do you find the pain?’ Well, my dad killed himself when I was 15. I’ve lost several friends before high school. My best friend was killed when I was 22, that’s why I started acting. It was a bunch that’s happened in my life.”
When the decision was finally made to drop Mitchell from “The Chi” he said it was because Disney learned about the situation with “Desperados” and they had just bought Showtime. Mitchell says that because he was asking for more money for the next season, they decided to let him go. He says it had nothing to do with Boone. He even said that Boone left the show because of a better opportunity.
As the interview ended, Charlamagne asked Mitchell if he believes he’s guilty of any of the allegations against him.
“No,” Mitchell said. “Well, I’m not really sure. I’m not going to say I’m not guilty of any allegations because I’m not sure what the allegations are if that makes sense.” He then amended himself saying that if anything, he’s guilty of letting his anger get the best of him with some of his actions on-set.
“I’m definitely guilty of that, if that’s what’s in question then yes,” he said. “If I jumped out and made anybody feel some type of way, intimidated or anything like that, yes, I may be guilty of that. I’m working on that every day.”
Many people on Twitter weren’t buying Mitchell’s story with many claiming that he’s lying or skirting around the truth. As of Monday morning, neither Waithe, Floyd Davis, or Boone have responded to Mitchell’s side of the story.
You can watch the entire interview below.
SEE ALSO:
‘Harriet’ Exceeded Expectations At The Box Office Despite The Backlash
Richard Spencer’s Racist ‘Octaroons’ Tirade Is Peak White Supremacy Idiocy
