Sylvester Stallone is making headlines for allegedly insulting background actors on the Atlanta set of his streaming series Tulsa King.
Background casting company, Catrett-Locke (aka CL Casting), announced it is no longer working with the Paramount+ series in a Facebook post on April 7.
“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 company shared.
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According to The Hollywood Reporter, CL Casting parted ways with the series following claims on social media that Stallone and director-executive producer Craig Zisk created a “toxic environment.”
Neither casting director Rose Locke, Stallone or Paramount+ responded to the outlet’s request for comment.
Rumors about the show have been making the rounds in the casting community.
Charleston SC Background Actors/Crew, another casting company, shared a post on April 8, regarding reported problems on the set.
The post said: “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. 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.”
The post included a screengrab from the moderator of a Facebook group, who shared claims about Stallone.
The screengrab said: “While working on TK this week Sylvester Stallone was observed calling the director over and saying ‘what the F* is up with these F**** ugly background [actors].’ He and the director proceeded to call certain people terrible names and laughed at them. ‘Tub of lard,’ ‘fat guy with cane’ and was making fun of their weight and handicaps. Sly said, ‘Bring in pretty young girls to be around me.’”
Zisk told TMZ the accusations are untrue. Zisk added that CL Casting booked extras that producers didn’t think were appropriate for the roles that needed to be filled.
The director said the casting company was told to book extras between ages 25 and 35 for a hip bar scene. According to Zisk, the company instead hired background actors who were “considerably older.”
Still, Zisk said the production moved forward with the extras and noted that they were “polite and did their jobs.”
Zisk said he told casting director Rose Locke she needed to start submitting headshots for extras to make sure they fit the bill. The director said Locke responded, “I don’t work that way,” then quit an hour later.
Tulsa King was created by Taylor Sheridan for Paramount+.
Stallone leads the cast Dwight “The General” Manfredi, a Mafia capo who is released from prison and sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he builds a new criminal empire with a group of unlikely characters. The actor is also a producer on the show.
The Emmy-nominated series premiered in November 2022 and is currently filming season 2.
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