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Sylvester Stallone and one of Tulsa King's directors have been accused of disparaging some background actors working on the show, Deadline reported.
An Atlanta, Georgia-based casting company, Rose Locke Casting, left the show due to the allegations. The company was tasked to look for actors aged 18 and above for the Taylor Sheridan-created series' second season. However, the series' working conditions became prime topic on a private Facebook page for background actors in Atlanta.
Sylvester Stallone vs. background actors
In that page, Stallone who describes himself as a “dinosaur” and a director who's yet to be named were accused saying that some of the background extras were “ugly,” a “tub of lard” and described another as “fat guy with cane.” The subject of the last comment reportedly said that “it hurt his soul” when he was described as such on set.
The page also mentioned that the actor suggested that production hire “pretty young girls to be around me.”
The casting company then announced Sunday on its Facebook page that it was parting ways with the show.
“We wanted to send you an update on the happenings here in our casting world. We have chosen to part ways with Tulsa King. We will be finishing up next week and the 12th will be our last day. We send well wishes to whomever takes over the show. We thank all of you great background artists for your continued support,” the post read.
Is the Tulsa King set “toxic”?
In a separate comment, Locke asked her clients to let her know if they heard or experienced incidents on the show's “toxic” set. This comment was then shared among the same private page.
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Deadline's source who's close to the show noted that they only recently became aware of the social media posts and are looking into it. Tulsa King director Craig Zisk denied the claims to TMZ.
Another Facebook page, this time one from South Carolina's Dee Dee McDaniel Simmons, also talked about the allegations.
She started the post with, “Several groups are talking about what happened on the set of Tulsa King filming in Atlanta.”
“At first I had hoped it was just a bad rumor started by 1 person who may have felt some type of way; but there have been countless people who were on set and have stated what they saw, how they were treated, etc.,” she continued.
Simmons added, “Sadly Sly Stallone and crew made things miserable for the background artists and many have said the set was completely unprofessional and a total mess.”
According to Zisk, he told Locke that production asked “young and hip” extras, but the ones that arrived on set were older. He claimed that he used the actors who showed up for the scene anyway. However, the director said he spoke with Locke asking her to submit actors' photos moving forward. This, he claimed, led to a dispute.
Neither Stallone or the show's production have commented on the issue.
