Sylvester Stallone is on the hot seat after allegations about this behavior on the set of Tulsa King in Atlanta fired up the internet. Casting director Rose Locke has reportedly quit the Paramount+ series after she claims the 77-year-old actor created a “toxic environment” for background actors.
The chaos began when TV writer Julie Benson shared Locke’s accusations on her X account, even though she does not work on the series. She posted two screenshots and added, “Got this disturbing news from my Atlanta friend who’s background on Tulsa King this wk. Casting agent quit because she was so disgusted. My friend is feeling anxious about working now. @TheSlyStallone what do you have to say for yourself, sir? Beyond disappointed, I’m livid.” The now-deleted post featured Facebook screenshots with the account names blurred out, per Variety.
Stallone reportedly told director Craig Zisk, “What the F*** is happening with these F****** ugly background,” referring to the actors placed in the scene. “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.'” The second screenshot was from Locke, who discussed going to set after being “informed of certain things” from the set of Tulsa King.
She noted that she had resigned from the show and wanted other background actors “to stand tougher” to “show this production we don’t support this kind of disrespect in GA.” Locke, whose list of credits includes Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and Spider-Man: No Way Home, summed up, “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.”
The reaction from fans about the allegations is all over the place on X – some think it’s a bunch of Hollywood nonsense while others aren’t surprised. “As if I couldn’t love him more,” wrote one supportive fan. Another follower added, “So what? I hope Sly doubles down and calls his critics wimp.” But others aren’t so forgiving with a social media user declaring, “Cancelled!” And another critic jumped right into the generational wars, noting, “Y’all expecting boomers to change is wild. Let rocky cook.” It’s wild times out there on the internet!
Zisk denied the allegations to TMZ, putting the blame squarely on Locke for miscasting older actors when they were looking for a “hip, young” crowd. He also defended Stallone and discredited the claim that the actor wanted “pretty girls” near him in the scene. To double down on his defense, Zisk told the outlet that Stallone’s wife, Jennifer Flavin, was on set that day. Paramount+ is reportedly investigating the claims, so this story will likely have another chapter further down the road.