Glee alum Matthew Morrison made what could have been his triumphant return to Fox as one of the judges of So You Think You Can Dance, which returned with Season 17 after a long break. Shortly after the premiere, however, he was fired, with the only explanation at the time as that he “did not follow competition production protocols.” Allegations followed that he was fired for inappropriate behavior toward a contestant, and now the actor/singer/dancer has responded to what he deems “blatantly untrue statements.”
Allegations regarding the reason for his firing began to spread across the internet this week after being initially reported on May 31. They seemingly stem from an unnamed source (cited by People), who reportedly claimed that Morrison was fired because of “an inappropriate relationship with a female contestant” after he reached out “through flirty direct messages” to the point that the dancer “felt uncomfortable with his line of comments.”
On June 2, Matthew Morrison (who is married with two children) took to Instagram with his side of the story, including reading what he claims is the only message he sent to a dancer from the show. Although he didn’t explicitly cite the source of the allegations, he said:
It’s really unfortunate that I have to sit here and defend myself, and my family, against blatantly untrue statements made anonymously, but I have nothing to hide. So in the interest of transparency, I will read to you the one message that I wrote to a dancer on the show: ‘Hey, it’s Matthew. If you don’t mind, I would love to get your number and talk you through some things.’ The end. I sent this because this dancer and I both share a mutual respect for a choreographer that I’ve known for over twenty years, and I was trying to help her get a job as a choreographer on the show.
According to Matthew Morrison, there was only one message that he sent to the So You Think You Can Dance contestant that didn’t do much more than make contact and ask for her number to talk, with a goal of discussing a choreography job. His initial statement on May 27 (via Us Weekly) about his departure from the show noted it as his “deepest regret,” and stated that he “did not follow competition production protocols,” which prevented him “from being able to judge the competition fairly.” He continued in his June 2 Instagram statement, saying:
It’s devastating that we live in this world where gossip rules and people’s lives are being thrown around as clickbait. I think this is much bigger than me and this story. Gossip is toxic and it is destroying our society, and we need to do better. In no way do I want this to take away from the show because dance has always been a unifying and healing modality, and I genuinely wish all the contestants and my fellow judges all the best.
Morrison’s closing comment about wishing the best for the contestants and his fellow judges echoes his initial statement, which said that he “will be watching alongside you all on what I know will be one of the best seasons yet.” At the time, Us Weekly cited an unnamed source that claimed a “minor infraction” resulted in Morrison’s departure. At the time of writing, there has been no public response from Fox or So You Think You Can Dance regarding Morrison’s social media statement.
The return of So You Think You Can Dance has involved some drama for all three of its judges to go along with the changes, although Matthew Morrison’s firing was the biggest development. Both JoJo Siwa and tWitch have received enough criticism on social media that they spoke out, with tWitch defending the dancing on the show and Siwa citing her years of dance experience as qualifying her for the job.
You can revisit the early episodes of SYTYCD streaming with a Hulu subscription, and catch new episodes on Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. ET on Fox. For some more viewing options now and in the coming weeks, check out our 2022 TV premiere schedule.
