Sylvester Stallone has been accused of creating a “toxic environment” on the Atlanta set of the Paramount+ series “Tulsa King” by making disparaging comments about background actors, among other allegations.
Rose Locke, a casting director on “Tulsa King,” is said to have quit the series. A representative for Stallone declined to comment.
“Tulsa King,” which was created by “Yellowstone” superstar showrunner Taylor Sheridan, is currently filming its second season in Atlanta. Season 1 of “Tulsa King,” which premiered in November 2022, was filmed in Oklahoma where the show is set. Paramount+ is said to be aware of the allegations.
The claims against Stallone that sparked discussion among background actors were ampified on social media by TV writer Julie Benson (“Star Trek: Prodigy”). On April 8, Benson posted two screenshots on X and wrote: “Got this disturbing news from my Atlanta friend who’s background on Tulsa King this wk. Casting agent quit because she was so disgusted. My friend is feeling anxious about working now.@TheSlyStallone what do you have to say for yourself, sir? Beyond disappointed, I’m livid.”
The screenshots contained a Facebook post with a blurred user name, recounting an allegation that Stallone was heard saying to the show’s director “What the F*** is happening with these F****** ugly background,” meaning the extras in a scene. It went on to say, “He and the director proceeded to call certain people terrible names and laughed at them,” giving specifics. And then, “Sly said, ‘Bring in pretty young girls to be around me.’”
The Facebook post said that Locke, who has a long list of credits as an extras casting director, has resigned from the show, and that the background actors “all need to stand together” in order to “show this production we don’t support this kind of disrespect in GA.”
The other screenshot featured what appeared to be an email message from Locke, in which she wrote that she had gone to the set after being “informed of certain things.” Locke did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Variety.
“At the end of the day I resigned because it was a clear toxic environment that I was not comfortable putting myself or background artists in,” Locke wrote. She then apologized to the email’s recipients, and included her phone number to solicit information about anything people experienced or “saw or heard. I will be sending the info to HR.” (Variety is not embedding Benson’s tweet because of Locke’s phone number.)
The Facebook page for Rose Locke Casting refers visitors to the Facebook page for CL Casting, which describes itself as an Atlanta-based background casting company. A notice on that page from the company dated April 7 reads: “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 note is signed “Love You Mean It, Rose, Bailey, Chicago, Patrick and Robb.”
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