Kevin Costner Explains the 'Real Truth’ Behind His Controversial ‘Yellowstone’ Exit

In a new interview with Deadline, published Monday, Kevin Costner revealed what he calls “the real truth” regarding his controversial exit from Taylor Sheridan’s hit series Yellowstone.

Costner starred as family patriarch John Dutton on the first five seasons of Paramount+’s soap opera, but his return to close out the series has been dreadfully uncertain. At CinemaCon last month, Costner expressed a desire to return to the series but ultimately left the ball in Sheridan’s court.

Costner has remained circumspect regarding details of the conflict until now. When reports initially surfaced that he wouldn’t return for the second half of season five, possibly the series’ final run of episodes, the disagreement was chalked up to salary issues. It was implied on behalf of Sheridan and the production team that Costner wanted more money to return, and was unsatisfied with the writing for his character.

Later reports suggested Costner was willing to close out his character’s arc for the final season, but that he would only allot a single week for the work.

On Monday, Costner told Deadline what was reported “wasn’t truthful.”

“I took a beating over these guys not speaking up for me and allowing crazy stories to come out,” Costner lamented of Yellowstone’s producers.

“I haven’t felt good about it the last year, what with the way they’ve talked about it,” he continued of the controversy. “It wasn’t truthful. I made a contract for seasons five, six and seven. After a two or three-month negotiation, they made another contract. Instead of seasons six and seven, it was 5A and 5B, and maybe we’ll do six.”

Costner was committed to his four-part epic Horizon, the first two installments of which are due in cinemas this summer. While much of the reportage implied Costner’s Horizon demands had limited his ability and desire to shoot Yellowstone.

“That’s not true,” the star bluntly refuted, stating he only worked 43 days during season five because production didn’t have scripts ready. “That’s bulls--t. That’s a lie…They made the contract and they picked the days…They weren’t able to make those. Horizon was set in the middle, but Yellowstone was first position. I fit [Horizon] into the gaps. [Yellowstone] just kept moving their gaps…I left my movie to be on time for them for [season] 5B.”

At this point, Costner admitted, “everything imploded.” Because the scripts weren’t ready, he was forced to leave to shoot Horizon, which he self-financed. He told Yellowstone producers that, at that point, he could come and shoot 5B for one week provided the show hashed out a storyline that everyone, Costner included, felt good about.

“They didn’t have the scripts for anything else,” Costner said. “And they wrote these other three shows. They don’t ever talk about that…So, what you read in the end was that I said, ‘I’m doing my movie. If you want me to work a week because you want to kill me or whatever else, I can give you a week.’ I really didn’t have that week to give them, but I said, I’ll do that.”

Costner continued: “They took that and a source on their side spun that into, well, he only wants to work a week for a whole season. Do you think that’s who I am? I’ve never missed a day of work. I’ve never left before fulfilling my contractual obligations.”

Costner laid the blame entirely at the feet of Sheridan and the rest of Yellowstone’s production team. “It all happened because they shut down one whole season, didn’t tell anybody and I didn’t work for 14 months,” the actor explained. “I said, ‘I can’t ever go through that again, where you shut down for over a year and I don’t have something in line to do.’ All I did was protect myself.”

Costner remains furious that no one at the show stuck up for him after he essentially put Yellowstone on the map. “They were silent, and that bothered me in the world of how you do things,” Costner lamented. “Why don’t you stick up for me? I went and sold this thing for you.”

But, somewhat surprisingly, he’s still willing to return and finish out Dutton’s storyline. “If the writing is there, I will be there too,” Costner vowed.

Season 5B of Yellowstone is currently slated to release in November. Horizon Part One will be in theaters on June 28, while Part Two will come out August 16.