A new Vanity Fair interview with comedian Jeff Garlin has surfaced allegations of inappropriate conduct on the set of his ABC TV series, The Goldbergs.
In the candid conversation, Garlin defended his integrity and said that no one has personally spoken to him about his actions except for the show’s human resources department, which talked with him three times in three years.
Garlin’s interview with Vanity Fair’s Maureen Ryan this week avoids specifics in favor of general concepts of misconduct, answering unspecific rumors that have floated, including one that he was fired from the series.
In the talk, he defended his alleged actions as merely “silly,” and said he was a “hugger,” and had not been told about any aversion to his practice, even while admitting that the show’s human resources department had spoken with him three times in the last three years about his conduct..
What Garlin allegedly is accused of is never directly addressed, beyond an example of him jokingly saying, “Oh, my vagina” in front of cast and crew.
“If I said something silly and offensive, and I’m working at an insurance company, I think it’s a different situation. If I, as the star of the show, demanded a gun range and on set, and I was firing guns every day and I was a little bit loose—to me, that’s an unsafe work atmosphere. If I threatened people, that’s an unsafe work atmosphere. None of that goes on ever with me. That’s not who I am. I am sorry to tell you that there really is no big story. Unless you want to do a story about political correctness,” he said.
The comedian, who also is an EP and cast member on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm (which declined to comment) said that he doesn’t believe The Goldbergs will return to the TV schedule after this season ends.
Sony Pictures TV issued a purposely vague statement on the Garlin accusations. “The well-being of our cast and crew is of utmost importance to us. This is an employment matter and it is being addressed by HR and production.”