Matthew Morrison was fired last week as a judge on the Fox TV show So You Think You Can Dance ‘after he had an inappropriate relationship with a female contestant.’
The contestant spoke with producers about the 43-year-old entertainer after he ‘reached out to her through flirty direct messages on social media,’ a source told People Tuesday, noting that ‘they didn’t have sex’ and ‘never met up off-set.’
The source told the outlet the contestant ‘felt uncomfortable with his line of comments and went to producers, who then got Fox involved.’
The latest: Matthew Morrison, 43, was fired last week as a judge on the Fox TV show So You Think You Can Dance ‘after he had an inappropriate relationship with a female contestant.’ He was pictured in NYC last year
Morrison ‘was fired after they did their own investigation,’ the source said, adding that ‘it was just messages that crossed the line.’
Morrison and his wife of seven years, Renee Puente, 37, are parents to two children, son Revel James Makai, four, and 10-month-old daughter Phoenix Monroe.
Morrison announced his departure from his judging role last week, saying in a statement to the outlet, ‘I did not follow competition production protocols, preventing me from being able to judge the competition fairly.’
‘Having the opportunity to be a judge on So You Think You Can Dance was an incredible honor for me. Therefore, it is my deepest regret to inform you that I will be leaving the show,’ he said.
Morrison and his wife of seven years, Renee Puente, 37, were snapped in NYC in 2019
Morrison announced he was leaving the series in a statement last week
The Glee actor noted, ‘After filming the audition rounds for the show and completing the selection of the 12 finalists, I did not follow competition production protocols, preventing me from being able to judge the competition fairly.’
He went on: ‘I cannot apologize enough to all involved and I will be watching alongside you all on what I know will be one of the best seasons yet.’
Morrison, Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss and JoJo Siwa were the judges for the 17th and current season, which began with an auditions episode last Wednesday.
FOX revealed to Us Weekly that they ‘will soon announce a new judge to the series for the next wave of the competition starting on June 15th featuring the Top 12 performing for America’s vote.’
In an interviewing published online by Broadway World last week, Matthew gushed of the program: ‘I love this show. I kind of, since the beginning, really, really, I feel like I grew up with the show in a way.’
Matthew said he believed his previous work in Broadway musicals ‘gives me credibility’ to perform his judging duties.
Short-lived: Morrison’s stint as a judge on the Fox competition ended after just a week
Company: Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss and JoJo Siwa remain the judges for the 17th and current season, which began with an auditions episode last Wednesday
‘I grew up as a break dancer, like when I was really young and then I transitioned into, you know, ballet, tap, and jazz and my first roles on Broadway before I started doing leads were as a dancer. I was in the ensemble and kind of worked my way up the Broadway ranks. I feel like I studied and trained just like all these people are doing.’
Meanwhile tWitch shot to fame as a contestant on the series and then achieved international recognition as the sidekick on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
After becoming the runner-up on So You Think You Can Dance in 2008, he returned to shake a leg on the program multiple times before becoming a judge in 2018.
Although he was away from the series during the 2019 season, he has been declared a permanent judge for the present run.
Sizzling heartthrob: Matthew is pictured on a 2009 episode of the long-running musical TV show Glee, which made him a star
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