Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
UPDATED, 5:45 PM: CBS has responded to Daniel Dae Kim’s Facebook post about his exit from Hawaii Five-O. The network released a statement saying it “tried very hard” to keep Kim and co-star Grace Park on the series “with offers for large and significant salary increases.”
“Daniel and Grace have been important and valued members of Hawaii Five-0 for seven seasons,” CBS said in a statement. “We did not want to lose them and tried very hard to keep them with offers for large and significant salary increases. While we could not reach an agreement, we part ways with tremendous respect for their talents on screen, as well as their roles as ambassadors for the show off screen, and with hopes to work with them again in the near future.”
PREVIOUSLY, 11:24 AM: Daniel Dae Kim is speaking out for the first time following the announcement of his exit from Hawaii Five-0. In a Facebook post to fans, Kim said he was unable to reach an agreement with the network on a new contract, and decided to leave ahead of the eighth season.
“By now many of you have heard the news, and I’m sad to say it is true. I will not be returning to Hawaii Five-0 when production starts next week,” he wrote Tuesday. “Though I made myself available to come back, CBS and I weren’t able to agree to terms on a new contract, so I made the difficult choice not to continue.”
In the post, Kim also addressed diversity problems in Hollywood, particularly for Asian American actors.
“As an Asian American actor, I know first-hand how difficult it is to find opportunities at all, let alone play a well developed, three dimensional character like Chin Ho. I will miss him sincerely,” he wrote. “What made him even more special is that he was a representative of a place my family and I so dearly love. It has been nothing short of an honor to be able to showcase the beauty and people of Hawaii every week, and I couldn’t be prouder to call these islands home. To my local community, mahalo nui loa.”
Kim and his co-star Grace Park announced last week they would not be returning for Season 8, reportedly over salary parity.
