Queen Latifah, producer and star of The Equalizer, has addressed the departure of fellow actor Chris Noth from the hit series. Noth, who played William Bishop, a former CIA agent and mentor of Latifah’s Robyn McCall was fired in December (effective immediately) in the wake of multiple allegations of sexual assault. He subsequently released a statement denying the truth of the allegations.
Since announcing his departure from The Equalizer, the producers haven’t spoken about Noth’s firing – or how they planned to write his character off the show. Queen Latifah finally broke her silence, discussing Noth’s departure from the hit series in an interview with People.
Speaking about his firing, she said:
It’s still surreal. It is such a dicey, delicate situation that requires a great deal of respect. That’s a personal thing that he’s going to have to deal with.
…
[Noth]’s character’s obviously a big part of the show and it was amazing chemistry, amazing chemistry. And my feeling is justice has to prevail regardless. I just want the right things to be done, you know?
Queen Latifah – People
We couldn’t agree more. As much as we had enjoyed the chemistry and dynamic between McCall and Bishop, we support the producers’ decision. But as fans, we have been curious to know how the show would handle his abrupt departure. Given his character’s former profession and a recent storyline about reconnecting with his long-lost son, albeit without the son’s knowledge of his true identity, it doesn’t seem like the series will have to stretch too hard to write him out.
However, whatever plans they have in store in this regard, Latifah isn’t sharing.
We are figuring out what we want to do creatively on the show and how we’re going to deal with that character.
Queen Latifah – People
With a show like The Equalizer, the question is probably less “how can we find a way to do this” and more “which of the many plots we could use to do this should we go with?” One thing’s for sure, though. We’ll still be tuning in.
The Equalizer airs Sundays on CBS.