Yahoo Movies Tambor accused of verbally harassing Arrested co-star
The following article contains allegations of sexual misconduct that some readers may find distressing.
Arrested Development's Jessica Walter has claimed that she was verbally harassed by co-star Jeffrey Tambor while working on the Emmy-winning series.
Tambor has been at the centre of controversy since being accused of sexual harassment last year by former assistant Van Barnes and Transparent co-star Trace Lysette - allegations he denies.
The actor was fired by Amazon earlier this year from his starring role in Transparent over those allegations, but his Arrested Development employers at Netflix have stood by him as they prepare to launch the show's fifth season next week.
On Tuesday (May 23), the cast began granting a series of promotional interviews, one of which was an in-depth discussion of Tambor's conduct with the New York Times while he was present.
During that interview, Jessica Walter - who plays Tambor's on-screen wife Lucille Bluth in Arrested Development - claimed that her co-star had one verbally attacked her while they were working together.
"I have to let go of being angry at him," she said. "He never crossed the line on our show, with any, you know, sexual whatever.
"Verbally, yes, he harassed me, but he did apologise. I have to let it go. [Turns to Tambor.] And I have to give you a chance to, you know, for us to be friends again."
Later in the conversation, she recalled: "It's hard because honestly - Jason [Bateman] says this happens all the time. In like almost 60 years of working, I've never had anybody yell at me like that on a set. And it's hard to deal with, but I'm over it now."
Elsewhere in the discussion, their castmate Jason Bateman mentions that Tambor and Walter's 'acting processes' may have clashed, while Tony Hale appears to downplay Tambor's alleged meltdown by saying that "we've all had our moments".
"But not like that, not like that. That was bad," Walter corrected him.
Digital Spy has reached out to Netflix and Tambor's representatives for comment.
Earlier in the week, Tambor said that he wrote his Arrested Development co-stars an apology letter for his sexual misconduct controversy potentially interfering with the show's fifth season.
Arrested Development premieres the first half of its fifth season on Tuesday, May 29, and will drop the second half at some later date.
Rape Crisis England and Wales works towards the elimination of sexual violence. If you've been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can access more information on their website or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999. Rape Crisis Scotland's helpline number is 08088 01 03 02.
Readers in the US are encouraged to contact RAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800-656-4673.
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