Nelsan Ellis, who plays Lafayette
Reynolds on HBO's supernatural drama True Blood, is “over”
Luke Grimes, who allegedly left the show rather than play gay
opposite Ellis.
Grimes reportedly quit the show last
winter after he learned about a romantic story line involving his
character, James, and Lafayette in the show's seventh and final
season. Australian-born actor Nathan Parsons (General Hospital)
replaced Grimes.
Ellis
told Vulture, a New York Magazine arts and
entertainment blog, that Grimes should have known what he was getting
into when he joined True Blood, one of television's most
sexually diverse dramas.
“I didn't [have time to bond with
Grimes],” Ellis said. “I mean, I can say I'm not going to make a
comment. But I just think that, you're an actor, you're an actor on
a show that's True Blood, we're all sitting there going, 'You
quit your job because … really?'”
“I'm over him. You quit your job
because you don't want to play a part?”
“You make a statement when you do
something like that,” Ellis said. “If you have a child, if you
have a son, and he comes out gay, what are you going to do? … You
just made a statement, and it has ripple effects.”
“I didn't like what he did because he
made a statement, and sometimes you have to take responsibility,”
he added.