A story that suggested Matthew Morrison was fired as a judge on the So You Think You Can Dance reality competition for molesting a female contestant distorts the truth, the star said in an Instagram post today.
People magazine reported earlier this week, citing “a source” close to the reality show, that Morrison has been released for harassing messages to a female contestant. She is said to have approached producers who involved Fox, who then fired Morrison after an investigation.
Today Morrison responded to the allegations.
“It is really unfortunate that I have to sit here and defend myself and my family against patently untrue statements that have been made anonymously, but I have nothing to hide,” he began in a video posted to Instagram on Thursday. “So, in the interest of transparency, I’m going to read you the one message I wrote to a dancer on the show.”
Then he read the alleged message. “Hey, this is Matthew. If you don’t mind, I’d like to get your number and explain a few things to you.”
“The end,” he said after reading. “I sent this because this dancer and I both share a mutual respect for a choreographer I’ve known for over 20 years and I was trying to help her get a choreographer job on the show.
He added: “It’s devastating that we live in this world where gossip rules and lives are thrown around as clickbait. I think that’s a lot bigger than me and this story. Gossip is toxic and destroys our society and we need to do better.”
Morrison said he “in no way” wanted to “take this away from the show” and wished the contestants and his fellow judges “the best.”
Earlier this week, he issued a statement blaming “production protocols” for his downfall.
“Having the opportunity to be a judge on So You Think You Can Dance has been an incredible honor for me. As such, it is my deepest regret to announce that I am leaving the show,” Morrison said in a statement provided to Deadline. “After filming the auditions for the show and completing the selection of the 12 finalists, I did not follow the competition’s production protocols, which prevented me from judging the competition fairly. I cannot apologize enough to everyone involved and I will watch with you all in what I believe will be one of the best seasons yet.”
Sources tell Deadline that a new judge, who will join Siwa and Stephen “tWitch'” Boss on the panel, will soon be announced for the next round of competitive episodes, beginning June 15. Morrison appears in a total of four episodes that have been pre-taped.
Cat Deeley serves as the host of the long-running series, which features experienced dancers aged 18-30 showcasing their talents in a variety of dance styles including contemporary, tap, hip-hop, ballroom, animation and breaking.
The series is produced by Industrial Media’s 19 Entertainment and MRC. Rosie Seitchik is serving as showrunner and will serve as executive producers along with co-creators Lythgoe, Jeff Thacker, Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman.