Julianna Margulies exits ‘The Morning Show’ after playing Reese Witherspoon’s love interest: report
“The Morning Show” is saying goodnight to one of its biggest stars.
Julianna Margulies is not returning to the Apple TV+ series for Season 4, Variety reported on Monday.
While Margulies, 58, made controversial comments last year about the Israel-Hamas war, sources said that the decision over her exit “was made before the controversy.”
The Emmy winner reportedly turned down appearing in one episode of Season 4, although she’s “been asked” about coming back for a potential fifth season.
The Post has reached out to Margulies’ rep for comment.
Margulies joined “The Morning Show” in Season 2 as news anchor Laura Peterson.
Laura becomes the on-again, off-again love interest of Reese Witherspoon’s Bradley Jackson. They break up during Season 3 after Laura finds out that Bradley covered up her brother’s involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
After the Season 3 finale, showrunner Charlotte Stoudt addressed her future plans for Margulies’ character.
“We’re very, very, very early in the room, but I think I’d want to explore [Laura] more,” she told Variety. “Her dimensionality. Not just, ‘I’m Laura, and I love Bradley, and she occasionally drives me crazy!’ I think there’s there’s more to Laura than that.”
In November, Margulies, who is Jewish, landed in hot water over comments she made on an episode of “The Back Room With Andy Ostroy” podcast, regarding her thoughts about the Israel-Hamas war. Among other comments, she said a “Black lesbian club” at Columbia University “put signs up that read, ‘No Jews allowed,’ ” for a recent movie screening.
“As someone who plays a lesbian journalist on ‘The Morning Show,’ I am more offended by it as a lesbian than I am as a Jew,” she said.
“The Good Wife” star also criticized African Americans supporting Palestine, saying, “The fact that the entire Black community isn’t standing with us to me says either they just don’t know, or they’ve been brainwashed to hate Jews.”
Margulies received swift backlash online for her comments. People on X, formerly known as Twitter, slammed her remarks as an “unhinged rant” and called her “a racist and homophobic pos.”
She later issued an apology. “I am horrified by the fact that statements I made on a recent podcast offended the Black and LGBTQIA+ communities, communities I truly love and respect,” Margulies said in a statement to Deadline.
“I want to be 100% clear: Racism, homophobia, sexism, or any prejudice against anyone’s personal beliefs or identity are abhorrent to me, full stop,” she continued. “Throughout my career I have worked tirelessly to combat hate of all kind, end antisemitism, speak out against terrorist groups like Hamas, and forge a united front against discrimination. I did not intend for my words to sow further division, for which I am sincerely apologetic.”
After joining “The Morning Show” in 2021, Margulies talked about being a straight woman who plays a gay character on television.
“I am an actress, and I am supposed to embody another character. Whatever their sexuality is doesn’t matter to me, the same way watching a gay person play a straight person. Are you telling me that because I’m a mother that I can never play a woman who has never had a child? Or, if you’ve never been married that you can’t play a married woman?” she said on “CBS Mornings.”
“We have to be careful on where you’re drawing the line there. We’re actors. We’re supposed to embody a character regardless of their sexuality,” she added.
“The Morning Show” cast includes Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Karen Pittman, Greta Lee, Nestor Carbonell and Nicole Beharie.
Season 4 is expected to begin production in July.
