Tiffany Boone is reclaiming her narrative.
The actress had exited The Chi in 2018, prior to the series’ second season premiere. The following year, in May, the former showrunner, Ayanna Floyd, gave a detailed statement to The Hollywood Reporter regarding allegations of misconduct against Jason Mitchell. Floyd said she and Boone had filed a complaint against the actor but the alleged behavior persisted despite subsequent HR training. She also claimed everyone on the show was aware of Mitchell’s behavior, including show creator Lena Waithe.
Following the allegations, Mitchell was let go from The Chi (as well as Netflix’s Desperados) and dropped by his agent and manager.
Throughout this ordeal, Boone has been silent on the matter. However, this weekend, Boone decided to speak her piece via Instagram, captioning the beautifully written post “feeling grateful and free.”
“At some point in our lives, we’ve all had jobs that we didn’t love,” Boone wrote in her statement.
“You don’t carelessly leave a ‘hit show’ that is praised by your community,” Boone continued. “I deeply love Chicago and the people of that city who have embraced me. I felt honored and privileged to be part of telling their story. The weight of what I was leaving behind felt like a ton, but the weight of my responsibility to speak up was even heavier. There were people who questioned my decision. How could I be sure I would work again, especially on a project of that magnitude? I wasn’t sure, but I had faith that once I took that leap I could be guided wherever I was supposed to go.”
Noting that her decision left her “crying on [her] Chicago couch,” Boone recalled the time she realized she had to report “concerns” she had during the first season to HR. She had fully planned on returning for the second season, after the HR training Floyd referenced prior.
“However, once we started filming, I quickly realized that not everyone was interested in creating a work environment that was conducive to each person feeling safe, seen and heard,” Boone wrote. “I felt that if I didn’t speak up, other voices that were trying to be heard would be silenced.”
Boone didn’t refer to Mitchell by name in the IG post, but noted her “previous co-star had been fired from a new project and subsequently fired from the show [they] worked on together.” The actress also confirmed that she won’t be sharing additional details of the alleged incident at this time.
“I wasn’t raised to quit jobs,” Boone wrote. “Yet a day came when I had to be brutally honest with myself about what I was willing to sacrifice just to have a job. Was I able to compromise my values, integrity and happiness just to be employed?”
Boone’s upcoming projects include Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere, Amazon’s Hunters and Netflix’s Good Morning, Midnight.
“Professionally, I have been able to not only work on projects that I’m proud of, but with people who are making concrete steps to change the nature of this business,” Boone added. “On Hunters, everyone from Amazon to Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions to our showrunners David Weil and Nikki Toscano, made it clear that they were creating an environment of safety, respect and collaboration. From there, I was able to work on Little Fires Everywhere, produced by Kerry Washington’s production company Simpson Street and Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine. It is not simply that this show is run by women. It is run by women who are committed to supporting other women, telling unique and compelling stories written by and about women and creating an environment where each and every person feels safe and inspired to create their best work.”
Personally, I am glad that Boone has found her peace and I wish her well in her future projects (I’m especially looking forward to Little Fires Everywhere and Hunters).