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Ricky Whittle of 'The 100' accuses showrunner of bullying

"What he did was disgusting and he should be ashamed," the actor said of Jason Rothenberg.

By Annie Martin
Ricky Whittle at the Los Angeles premiere of "Pacific Rim" in 2013. The actor played Lincoln on "The 100." File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
Ricky Whittle at the Los Angeles premiere of "Pacific Rim" in 2013. The actor played Lincoln on "The 100." File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

LOS ANGELES, April 7 (UPI) -- Ricky Whittle says he left The 100 because of showrunner Jason Rothenberg's bullying.

The 34-year-old British actor, who played Lincoln on The CW series, accused Rothenberg of "professionally bullying" him off the show following his character's death on the March 31 episode.

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"Lincoln wasn't supposed to die this season," Whittle said Tuesday on AfterBuzz TV's Spotlight On. "It was my choice to go ... I don't want a witch hunt ... [but what] I will say is that basically, Jason Rothenberg abused his position to make my job untenable."

"What he did was disgusting and he should be ashamed," the star said. "He was professionally bullying me, cutting out all the storyline that I was supposed to be doing, cutting lines, trying to make my character and myself as insignificant as possible."

Whittle appeared in a recurring capacity in Season 1 before being promoted to a series regular in Seasons 2 and 3. The actor said he attempted to leave the show several times before being allowed to audition for new Starz series American Gods.

"He made me walk away from something I really loved," Whittle said. "I love the show, I love Lincoln, I love that cast and crew. He forced me to make that choice to walk away, and I'm proud I did it. I stood up and said enough's enough."

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Whittle thanked everyone else at Warner Bros and The CW for showing him "support and love" and being "incredible" during his time on The 100.

Rothenberg responded to the actor's accusations in a statement Wednesday.

"Ricky Whittle is a talented actor," the showrunner said. "I appreciate his work on The 100 and wish him all the best moving forward on American Gods."

Whittle will next star as Shadow on Starz's adaptation of American Gods. The 100 is loosely based on the Kass Morgan novel of the same name and stars Eliza Taylor, Paige Turco, Bob Morley and Marie Avgeropoulos.

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