Earlier this week, it was announced that Jeffrey Tambor, an actor whose name was one of many mentioned in the post-Weinstein rush of sexual misconduct allegations, would be returning to this year’s Emmys race.
The 73-year-old star, who has previously won two awards for his role as a trans woman in Transparent, was submitted by Netflix for his work in the latest season of Arrested Development launching at the end of the month. It felt like the beginning of a comeback, a slow crawl back to the top after being ousted from the Amazon drama. But his good luck was short-lived. Later that same day, the New York Times launched a roundtable interview with Tambor and the rest of the Arrested Development cast. It was a surprisingly candid chat and once talk of the new season was completed, the conversation moved on to Tambor’s misbehaviour.
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter earlier this month, he had mentioned a “blowup” with his on-screen wife, played by Jessica Walter. It was brought up in the roundtable and she spoke for the first time about the incident. After her male co-stars tried to defend him, she started to cry, audio of which has been going viral.
“It’s hard because honestly – Jason [Bateman] says this happens all the time,” she said. “In like almost 60 years of working, I’ve never had anybody yell at me like that on a set. And it’s hard to deal with, but I’m over it now.”
After outcry online, Bateman apologised for his unwavering defense of Tambor. “Based on listening to the NYT interview and hearing people’s thoughts online, I realize that I was wrong here,” he tweeted. “I sound like I’m condoning yelling at work. I do not. It sounds like I’m excusing Jeffrey. I do not. It sounds like I’m insensitive to Jessica. I am not.”
Since the article was published, Netflix has announced that all future interviews supporting the show will be cancelled.
It’s a stark reminder of the other behavior Tambor has been accused of over the last year, something that he, and Netflix, were trying to move past.
In November 2017, Tambor, who had been experiencing a new career high playing Maura Pfefferman in Jill Soloway’s critically acclaimed drama Transparent, was accused of sexual misconduct on set. His former assistant Van Barnes and co-star Trace Lysette both accused him of harassment.
Barnes claimed he had propositioned her, made lewd comments, groped her and threatened her if she shared her story, while Lysette released a statement on Twitter alleging similar impropriety and “multiple uncomfortable experiences”.
“He came in close, put his bare feet on top of mine so I could not move, leaned his body against me, and began quick, discreet thrusts back and forth against my body,” Lysette wrote about one experience in particular. “I felt his penis on my hip through his thin pajamas.”
Tambor denied any sexual harassment but said he was “deeply sorry” for any actions that might have been misinterpreted. Yet he also criticized the “toxic politicized atmosphere” on set and the “flawed” investigation led by Amazon to uncover the veracity of the claims against him.
In February this year, Tambor was officially dropped from the show, with Soloway “heartbroken” over any damage caused to the trans community. While he still denies any sexual misconduct, he has since been more upfront about his difficult behavior.
“I drove myself and my castmates crazy,” he said to the Hollywood Reporter. “Lines got blurred. I was difficult. I was mean. I yelled at Jill – she told me recently she was afraid of me. I yelled at the wonderful [executive producer] Bridget Bedard in front of everybody. I made her cry. And I apologized and everything, but still, I yelled at her. The assistant directors. I was rude to my assistant. I was moody. Sometimes I didn’t talk at all.”
Tambor’s performance in the show, while praised by many, was also a bone of contention for many in the trans community who were disappointed with the hiring of a cisgender man in the role. Soloway, who identifies as non-binary, had expressed regret over the casting. “It definitely started in a different time,” they said to Vulture in 2016. “And my ignorance, I lead with my ignorance, is that I really didn’t understand anything with the trans civil-rights movement when I created the show.”
The show is set to go forward, for one final season, without Tambor, who calls the removal of his character “a death”.
His return in Arrested Development was seen as a lifeline, a way of maintaining his presence in the industry after losing his biggest role to date. The press surrounding it has certainly been pushing it as such. “In making and promoting seasons four and five of Arrested Development Jeffrey has always been totally professional,” Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, said.
There have been similar sentiments from those involved with the show. Creator Mitchell Hurwitz pointedly said that “accusations are very different than proof”. David Cross said that he would “stand behind” him. Jason Bateman said that he has “always just been incredible” on the set of the show. Portia de Rossi said that she would “support” and “adore” him. It was only Alia Shawkat, who also had a small role in Transparent, who remained more muted. “I support him being on the show, but I also support the voices of the victims at the same time,” she said.
Tambor was last seen in Armando Iannucci’s 2017 comedy The Death of Stalin although his face was removed from some posters after news of his firing emerged. The press tour was similarly plagued with a cloud of related questions. “It’s one of those things where I just don’t know what the situation is, and I don’t think I would help if I commented on it,” Iannucci said to the Hollywood Reporter.
His next role in Disney family comedy Magic Camp, alongside Gillian Jacobs, was yanked from the schedule last year and in February, it was announced that it will instead premiere on the studio’s new streaming network in 2019, a decision reportedly unrelated to any allegations.
Tambor is not alone in his attempt to revive his career, with other men also accused of misconduct making a slow creep back into the spotlight.
In March, it was announced that the actor and film-maker Nate Parker would be making a new fact-based drama based on the memoir of a high-profile LAPD detective. The Birth of a Nation, his directorial debut, was swarmed wth controversy after the resurfacing of a rape charge, of which he was acquitted in 1999. It has also been reported that the veteran news anchor Charlie Rose, accused of serial sexual harassment, is being pitched as the host of a new show that would see him speak to other men accused of similar misconduct.
For now, it seems that Tambor is out of gas on his road to redemption and given the new landscape he is now a part of, it seems fitting. While he is yet to admit to any sexual wrongdoing, he has confessed that he has been difficult on set with behavior that could be easily described as bullying, something that’s finally becoming less acceptable, and more reported, in the industry.
“You gotta laugh about the ‘but everybody behaves like this on set’,” director Lexi Alexander tweeted. “No. White men do. White men are the only ones who get away with this shit. Ask Isaiah Washington. And imagine any woman on set behaving like Jeffrey Tambor.”
Tambor insists he is a new man. “People change,” he said earlier this month. “It’s already changed my behavior on set.”
But is it enough? Given the flurry of allegations hitting every week, do audiences want to see alleged predators and bullies on screen? A string of petitions to remove Johnny Depp, accused of assaulting ex-wife Amber Heard, from the upcoming Fantastic Beasts sequel suggests that a vocal portion have had enough.
What the industry seems more focused on is ensuring that the accusers are receiving the comebacks they deserve. Annabella Sciorra, who alleged that Harvey Weinstein raped her, has nabbed a role as the lead villain in the new season of Luke Cage while Salma Hayek, who also alleged that Weinstein harassed and threatened her, has just scored an Amazon comedy series with Paul Feig.
The disastrous yet enlightening New York Times roundtable showed that much of the trauma attached to figures such as Tambor remains unresolved. The pain, anguish and regret that have all been pushed underneath the surface are slowly making their way out, and no matter how many apologies might follow, the scars aren’t going away.
