'Arrested Development' U.K. press tour canceled as the cast scrambles to apologize to Jessica Walter
Fallout continues from this week’s controversial interview with the cast of Arrested Development. Netflix has canceled a planned press tour in the U.K. ahead of the show’s upcoming fifth season.
“We had planned to have most of the Arrested Development cast in London this week to support the launch of the new season and meet fans,” Netflix said in a statement. “At this time we have decided not to move ahead with promotional activity in the U.K. but hope to bring the cast back at another time.”
Jessica Walter appeared on Bravo’s Watch What Happens: Live last night but did not address the incident.
On Wednesday, outrage erupted after an uncomfortable New York Times interview was published with stars Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Tony Hale, Jason Bateman, Alia Shawkat, Will Arnett, and David Cross. In the sit-down, Walter emotionally recalled an incident when Tambor — who was fired from Transparent earlier this year after sexual-harassment allegations — was verbally abusive toward her on-set.
“In like almost 60 years of working, I’ve never had anybody yell at me like that on a set,” she exclaimed. Afterward, all of the men essentially made excuses for Tambor while Walter sat there in tears. Shawkat was the only person to come to her defense.
On Thursday, Bateman issued a lengthy mea culpa on Twitter, followed by Hale.
I have reached out to Jessica personally to apologize. Arrested Development is one of my families. Regardless of my intentions, it is clear that my words, both said and unsaid, served to minimize Jessica’s pain and for that I am extremely sorry.
— Tony Hale (@MrTonyHale) May 24, 2018
Now, Cross has come forward and apologized — something that will make his wife, Amber Tamblyn, happy.
“I’ll say this: Two people that I deeply respect, and I listen to and I love and appreciate, expressed to me after that interview their discomfort with it,” Cross told Gothamist. “One of those was Alia and the other was my wife. I listened to them, and I can’t and wouldn’t ever dismiss their take on something. And they are also two people who are aware of the bigger picture. So, it means even more than it normally would, which is a lot.”
Cross continued, “So I will unequivocally apologize to Jessica. I’m sorry that we behaved the way we behaved. Whatever the criticisms are, I will own up. I don’t even know what they are; as I said, I saw the initial thing but I jumped off at the behest of various people. And also I had to put my daughter to bed, so it was time to, you know, focus on what’s really important in the moment.”
He added that there is “never an excuse ever for yelling at somebody and humiliating them in front of other people.”
Earlier, Tamblyn took to Twitter to clap back at those calling her out for being silent — which she’s not.
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