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Jeffrey Dean Morgan is putting down his bat and picking up his keyboard to come to the defense of his Walking Dead costar, Norman Reedus, who was attacked by “toxic” fans on Twitter. Morgan stood up for Reedus on Twitter Thursday (April 28) when he was targeted following news of Melissa McBride‘s exit from their planned Walking Dead spinoff show.
AMC confirmed Wednesday (April 27) that McBride would not appear in the previously announced Daryl and Carol spinoff, and the show would focus on Daryl (Reedus) instead. The news riled up the Walking Dead fandom, who came after Reedus, by Morgan’s account.
“Some of you have gone WAY too far. TOXIC. Attacking norm for crap he has NOTHING to do with? Melissa made a call that was hers alone. She wants/needs a break,” Morgan, who plays Negan in the zombie drama, wrote on Twitter Thursday. “Respect that. Factors involved that are nobody’s business. Norm, who’s given more than anyone to you all. Just SHITTY.”
AMC stated Wednesday that McBride left the spinoff because relocating to Europe — where the show will film this summer — “became logistically untenable” for her.
Morgan hit back at fans pointing fingers at Reedus and accusing him of having a say in where the show would film, writing in a follow-up tweet, “Norman had nothing to do with picking location. That decision is all about story, ideas… MONEY. That’s studio/network. Not actors. We can say yes and do, or no, and not do… MAYBE. SOMETIMES. If we’re lucky and don’t have contract yet. Rarely does actor have that power.”
McBride’s exit from the planned spinoff was shocking to fans, who first learned of the show when it was announced in 2020. While The Walking Dead is coming to an end after 11 seasons, the show’s universe and some of its characters are living on in spinoffs, including the now Daryl-only series, as well as the upcoming Tales of the Walking Dead and Isle of the Dead, which will star Morgan alongside Lauren Cohan.
