‘The Rookie’ Actress Afton Williamson Quits Show Citing Harassment and Assault

Afton Williamson from the ABC show 'The Rookie' announced over the weekend that she had quit the hit show over sexual harassment and assault.

This past weekend, Williamson posted to Instagram that she would not be returning for the 2nd season of 'The Rookie', accusing recurring guest star Demetrius Grosse of sexual harassment and Hair Dept. Head Sally Ciganovich of racial harassment and sexual assault. Williamson also said she endured bullying from Executive Producers, and when she reported the issues to the show runner, he did not report it as he promised, and that Ciganovich was only fired after the assault at the season's wrap party and not due to the way she treated Williamson for a year.

Yesterday, Williamson posted to Instagram again, thanking friends and fans for their support, and encouraging other victims of assault to have to courage to speak up.

As reported by the LA Times, ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke stated she was made aware of the accusations two months ago, and an outside firm had been hired by the production company to investigate Williamson's claims,

We will make a determination based on what we find out,” she said, adding that the conclusions from the investigation “will help guide us how to handle situations like that in the future, if in fact there has been any sort of communication breakdown.”