Action star Sylvester Stallone is all set to return for the second season of the Paramount+ TV show Tulsa King. The crime drama was created by Yellowstone’s Taylor Sheridan and its first season was one of the most-watched shows in the network’s history. Stallone recently took to Instagram to promote the upcoming second season.
While Stallone expressed his excitement for the show’s sophomore season, he seemed to have avoided an ongoing controversy. Several casting agencies reportedly pulled out of the show after news of alleged ‘toxic’ behavior on set from the Rocky star and the show’s director came out. The accusations have been denied by director Craig Zisk, who was present on set.
Sylvester Stallone Accused Of Being Toxic On The Sets Of Tulsa King
Sylvester Stallone’s crime drama Tulsa King made waves with the first season. Created by Taylor Sheridan, who seems to have delivered multiple hits in the form of Yellowstone and The Mayor of Kingstown, the show was nominated for Primetime Creative Arts Emmy. The show also reportedly boosted the subscription numbers for Paramount+.
Stallone took to Instagram to promote the upcoming second season of the show. Filming for the show is all set to begin in Atlanta and Oklahoma. While there was considerable excitement for the second season of the show, Stallon did not seem to address the ongoing controversy with regard to his alleged toxic behavior on set.
The Rambo star was recently accused of hurling insults at background actor on the sets of Tulsa King. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a Facebook Group with actors mentioned that Stallone went to the director and allegedly hurled insults at the background actors, describing one particular actor as a ‘tub of lard’ and ‘ugly’. He reportedly also called the individual a ‘fat guy with a cane’.
Rose Locke, the representative of Catrett Locke Casting announced that her firm would be pulling out of the show after she reportedly visited the sets and discovered the work environment to be toxic. She said,
“I have been informed of certain things that happened on Thursday … I came the 2nd day (Friday) to see what was happening…At the end of the day, I resigned because it was a clear toxic environment that I was not comfortable putting myself or background artists in. I will finish out this coming week and someone else will take over.”
The official Facebook page of the casting company also announced that they would be pulling out of the show. Locke apologized for the experience and even encouraged other cast members to approach her with complaints which she assured would be sent to HR.
Tulsa King Director Denies Allegations of Toxic Behavior
According to cast members on set, Sylvester Stallone allegedly went up to the director while filming a scene at a bar and started throwing insulting comments on the background extras. Many comments were reportedly aimed at the old age of the extras when the director reportedly wanted a younger crowd. The seventy-seven-year-old actor reportedly hurled many F-bombs as well (via THR).
“While working on TK this week Sylvester Stallone was observed calling the director over and saying ‘What the F* is up with these F**** ugly background [actors].’ He and the director proceeded to call certain people terrible names and laughed at them…Sly said, ‘Bring in pretty young girls to be around me.’”
Director Craig Zisk, who was the overall director of the series, reportedly denied the allegations and instead brought up a mix-up from the casting company. He reportedly told TMZ that there was an issue with regard to the age of the background extras as they were much older than what he had asked for. He said that he ended up using the extras anyway.
Zisk also reportedly mentioned that he brought up the issue with Rose Locke and told her to send headshots of actors before casting them next time to avoid confusion. He said that Locke agreed to do so but resigned right after. Some background actors from the show reportedly agreed with Zisk’s statements and said that there was nothing out of the ordinary.