Orlando Jones on deciding to speak out on his American Gods firing: "I wish they acted more respectfully"

Variety

“I assumed at some point, somebody would say that I wasn’t going to be in season three,” Jones told Variety after releasing a video Saturday saying he was fired in September because, he alleges, he was told by new showrunner Charles “Chic” Eglee his Mr. Nancy character was sending the "wrong message for black America." Jones added: “And I imagined that someone would reach out or, there would be some sort of press release out to respond to that in some meaningful way.” Jones said he fully expected to return for Season 3, and was even doing promotion for Starz over the summer. But then on Sept. 10, he was told he was let go. In a statement, producer Fremantle insisted that Jones was fired for creative reasons. "The storylines of American Gods have continually shifted and evolved to reflect the complex mythology of the source material,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “Mr. Jones’ option was not picked up because Mr. Nancy, among other characters, is not featured in the portion of the book we are focusing on within Season 3." Jones says he spoke out as a lesson for other actors who might find themselves in the same situation. “I wish these people acted more responsibly," he said. "I wish they acted more respectfully. And it would have been nice to get a proper ‘thank you’ and would have been nice to be paid,” he said. “You know, my children aren’t in cages. I’m not in Aleppo. I still see myself as very privileged and, and I’m super grateful. But nobody else needs to go through this. Not for doing your work, for doing your job, to get screwed over like this.”