Who Is Jason Mitchell? New Details On The Firing Of Showtime's 'The Chi' Actor Over Sexual Misconduct Allegations
The allegations against him are serious.
Getty The proverbial sh*t has hit the fan for actor Jason Mitchell. Best known for his roles in Straight Outta Compton and the Showtime series The Chi, Mitchell was fired from The Chi and the Netflix movie Desperados and he was dropped by his talent agency UTA and his management company Authentic Talent & Literary Management. Mitchell was dropped from all of these things following allegations of inappropriate behavior. Details of what this behavior is are sketchy, but they have to be serious given the total anihilation of his career in a matter of hours. Who is Jason Mitchell and what did he do?
1. Eazy-E
Jason Mitchell had his breakout role in Straight Out Of Compton. He played legendary rapper Eazy-E. For that role he received many accolades, including the African American Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor.
2. The Chi
Jason Mitchell was a series lead on Showtime's The Chi. He played Brandon, a young man trying to better himself and open his own restaurant. During Season 2, the show focused on Brandon's plan for his food truck. Mitchell has been nominated for MTV Movie & TV Awards' Best Performance in a Show. The studio for the show, Fox 21 TV Studios opted not to pick up Mitchell's option for next season. Reps for Fox 21 and Showtime confirmed to Deadline that Mitchell would not continue on The Chi beyond the second season, which has already filmed and is currently airing.
3. Rough childhood
Mitchell's Mom was in the Army and his family moved around a lot. Eventually they settled in New Orleans. His father committed suicide when Jason was 15. Then, just as Mitchell was graduating from high school, Hurricane Katrina hit and his family lost everything.
4. Past allegations
In 2016, Mitchell was investigated for assault when a woman publicly accused him of slamming her to the ground in a hotel in Boston. Additionally, he had already been investigated for an alleged inappropriate behavior situation with a female co-star on The Chi.
5. Inappropriate behavior
The Hollywood Reporter said that a number of actresses on The Chi complained about Mitchell's behavoir. Tiffany Boone, who plays the girlfriend of Mitchell's character, reportedly felt so unsafe around him that she asked her fiancé to come to the set when she had scenes to film with Mitchell. She made multiple reports of sexual harassment against Mitchell. Boone told Fox 21 that she could not work with Mitchell anymore. Reportedly other actresses on the show also said that they had problems with Mitchell. All three of Mitchell's co-stars on Desperados — Nasim Pedrad, Anna Camp and Robbie Amell —complained about Mitchell's behavior. Filming for the Netflix movie had not yet started. His talent agency UTA dropped Mitchell weeks ago. A source close to the situation says the agency “made a very quick decision” to drop the actor based on multiple allegations of misconduct.
Amy Lamare is a Los Angeles based freelance writer covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. She is deeply devoted to her chocolate Labrador and an avid long distance runner. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.