Thomas Gibson, a series regular on the CBS crime drama "Criminal Minds," has been fired after an on-set altercation with a writer.
"Thomas Gibson has been dismissed from 'Criminal Minds'. Creative details for how the character's exit will be addressed in the show will be announced at a later date," producers ABC Studios and CBS Television Studios said in a joint statement, according to Entertainment Tonight.
Gibson, who played the role of agent Aaron Hotchner on the show for 11 seasons, was handed a temporary two-episode suspension for allegedly kicking a writer in the leg on set a couple of weeks ago but the temporary suspension turned into a permanent one.
The "Dharma & Greg" star addressed the altercation on Thursday citing "creative differences" and expressed his regret over the incident. "There were creative differences on the set and a disagreement," a spokeswoman said in a statement on behalf of the actor. "I regret that it occurred."
This is not the first time the 54-year-old actor has had an outburst on set. In 2010, Gibson was required to take anger management classes following an altercation with assistant director Ian Woolf.
The decision to let Gibson go was arrived upon after an internal review, which took into consideration the actor's previous incidents, including a DUI arrest in 2013.
The actor responded to being fired from the show by issuing a statement that expressed his disappointment over his exit before thanking the cast, crew and fans of the procedural drama.
"I love Criminal Minds and have put my heart and soul into it for the last twelve years," he said, according to Deadline. "I had hoped to see it through to the end, but that won't be possible now. I would just like to say thank you to the writers, producers, actors, our amazing crew, and, most importantly, the best fans that a show could ever hope to have
Since Gibson had already started filming, he will feature in the first two episode of the show's upcoming Season 12 before his character's exit is incorporated into the story.
"Criminal Minds'" new season will premiere on Sept. 28 on CBS and will feature a fresh face as "CSI: Miami" actor Adam Rodriguez joined the cast as a series regular following the exit of longtime castmember, Shemar Moore, earlier this year.
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