Nicole Beharie claims she was ‘blacklisted’ from film and television productions after being unexpectedly killed off from her Fox series Sleepy Hollow.
In interviews with The San Diego Union-Tribune and The New York Times, Beharie said she was treated worse than her co-star Tom Mison, who is white, when the two were still working together.
The 35-year-old actress recalled that they both got sick with a serious illness at the same time during filming, but Mison was allowed to recuperate back in his native England while she was forced to continue filming.
Actress Nicole Beharie, 36, claimed she was ‘blacklisted’ after her Sleepy Hollow departure in interviews with The New York Times and The San Diego Union-Tribune in recent days; pictured in January in Park City, Utah
Though Sleepy Hollow initially gave Beharie and Mison equal footing as its leads, her role was significantly decreased in the second season, and she was killed off in the season three finale.
According to the actress, her treatment on set mirrored how her character was sidelined over time.
‘My costar and I were both sick at the same time but I don’t believe that we were treated equally,’ she said.
‘He was allowed to go back to England for a month [to recover while] I was given Episode 9 to shoot on my own. So I pushed through it and then by the end of that episode I was in urgent care. And all the doctors, including the doctors that the studio was sending, were all confirming, “Hey, she can’t work right now.”‘
Though the solo episode was treated as a gift to her, she saw it as a way to make her take up all the work while Mison was gone.
Beharie and her co-star Tom Mison both got seriously ill at the same time, but she says he was allowed to recuperate for a month in England while she had to film an entire solo episode; publicity still featuring Mison from Sleepy Hollow
Beharie was eventually diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, which she thinks led to her being killed off the horror–mystery series.
‘There’s a lot of pressure in a situation like that where so many people are relying on you alone to get up and get going,’ she said. ‘It was very difficult to talk about at the time because I wanted to get back to work. But I was labeled as problematic and blacklisted by some people.’
Beharie claims that she was forced to see doctors regularly while ill to prove to the studio that she couldn’t work.
‘They sent in lots of doctors, and I had daily checkups to make sure I was actually sick because they had to get the production going. Every doctor said I wasn’t doing well and that I needed to rest. That is not what they wanted to hear,’ she explained.
‘Months ensued and I got a lawyer. I got my hours down and worked through it,’ she continued. ‘But then I developed an autoimmune condition. I had C. difficile, which had me on eight different prescription medications.’
Hidden cause: Beharie was eventually diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, which she thinks led to her being killed off the horror–mystery series; publicity still from Sleepy Hollow
Bad news: ‘They sent in lots of doctors, and I had daily checkups to make sure I was actually sick because they had to get the production going. Every doctor said I wasn’t doing well and that I needed to rest. That is not what they wanted to hear,’ she explained; shown in January
‘Sometimes I think that some people I was working with didn’t like that I was unwell but loved by the audience,’ she continued. ‘Everyone of color on that show was seen as expendable and eventually let go.’
Despite the initial success of her show, Beharie only has a few screen credits between her 2016 departure and her critically acclaimed new indie film Miss Juneteenth, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.
‘I tried to get work afterwards and people were like, “We heard you were difficult.”‘ she said, ‘But no one can say I was late or unprofessional or negative.’
‘I lost out on a lot of jobs and opportunities because of how somebody labeled me,’ she added.
Shut out: ‘I tried to get work afterwards and people were like, “We heard you were difficult.”‘ she said, ‘But no one can say I was late or unprofessional or negative.’
The actress’ history made her hesitant to believe corporations are serious about their new attempts to atone for past racist actions.
‘A lot of corporations are saying lovely things right now, but it doesn’t always go well when black people speak up and ask questions. We can face weaponized denial and obliviousness,’ she said.
‘Sometimes I think that some people I was working with didn’t like that I was unwell but loved by the audience. I would think they’d support that. But everyone of color on that show was seen as expendable and eventually let go.’
Beharie currently stars in the critically acclaimed drama Miss Juneteenth, in which she plays a former pageant winner–turned–bartender who wants her fiercely independent daughter to take up her crown.
Won’t get fooled again: The actress’ history made her hesitant to believe corporations are serious about their new attempts to atone for past racist actions. ‘It doesn’t always go well when black people speak up and ask questions’; pictured in January