Days after he was removed as a judge from Fox's reality competition show So You Think You Can Dance, the reason for Glee star Matthew Morrison's dismissal from the show has been revealed... and it's not pretty.
According to a source who spoke to People magazine about the matter, the violation of "competition production protocols" Morrison cryptically mentioned in his announcement of his departure had to do with coming onto a cast member.
The source told People it was a string of "flirty DMs" from Morrison to other staff members which "crossed a line" and got him booted.
A source told People magazine the "Glee" alum "crossed a line" by sending flirtatious messages to a contestant. https://t.co/srrqCD488d
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) June 1, 2022
In the interview with People, the production staffer said Morrison, who has been married to actor and model Renee Puente since 2014, was fired due to "an inappropriate relationship with a female contestant."
The staffer was careful to note that as far as anyone knew, the relationship was not sexual, but centered solely on social media DMs.
The staffer told People:
"They didn't have sex, but he reached out to her through flirty direct messages on social media... It was just messages that crossed the line."
The staffer went on to say that Morrison's overtures made the contestant "uncomfortable," leading to his firing.
"She felt uncomfortable with his line of comments and went to producers, who then got Fox involved. He was fired after they did their own investigation."
Fox has yet to comment on Morrison's departure.
The staffer's account gives far more detail than Morrison's previous statement about his firing in a statement to Variety earlier this week, which read:
"Having the opportunity to be a judge on ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ was an incredible honor for me. Therefore, it is my deepest regret to inform you that I will be leaving the show."
"After filming the audition rounds for the show and completing the selection of the 12 finalists, I did not follow competition production protocols, preventing me from being able to judge the competition fairly."
On Twitter, the news definitely raised eyebrows, especially among fans of Glee who couldn't help but see a certain similarity between the incident and Morrison's character on Glee.
Matthew Morrison getting fired from SYTYCD for sending flirty DMs to a contestant is the most Mr. Schue thing ever. Jail!
— shania twink (@phillipethao) June 1, 2022
The lines between Matthew Morrison and Mr. Schue continue to be blurred… https://t.co/Mwi4yxIfMf
— Matt Grossman (@MGrossman92) May 27, 2022
Matthew Morrison did not have to try to cheat with the contestant of a show he JUDGES. Men can't even employ common sense to step outside of their marriages anymore. Sad!
— Rachel Leah (@raetheforce) June 1, 2022
Matthew Morrison, you f'ing scumbag.
— OnStage Blog - Chris Peterson🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈 (@OnstageBlog) June 1, 2022
Middle-aged man bothered a young woman and got fired for it. I'm actually surprised.https://t.co/pUPHPbxCRV
— Kim Wexler's Ponytail (@MadisonKittay) June 1, 2022
So Matthew Morrison slide into a contestants DMs and was immediately fired from So You Think You Can Dance.
More of this energy, every damn day please.
— illy 🦆 (@artbyiliana) June 2, 2022
Matthew Morrison 🤝🏻 Lea Michele
Being just like their Glee characters
— Jill (@jillllthoughts) June 1, 2022
matthew morrison is a menace pic.twitter.com/sy5EN029yz
— carlos (@salmonskinroIIs) May 31, 2022
Matthew Morrison being fired for inappropriately messaging a contestant on SYTYCD really tracks with everything I know about him.
— MA, LPCC (@MadisonAndrews1) June 1, 2022
All Matthew Morrison had to do was not be a creep but he couldn't even do that.
— val | sad unicorn (@getyourshovel) June 1, 2022
Morrison will be replaced as a judge, but will continue to be seen on the show through the middle of this month in episodes that have already been filmed.
