MacGyver Star Lucas Till says in a new interview that the toxic environment on set created by former executive producer Peter M. Lenkov brought the actor to the “breaking point,” and that the first year on the show left Till feeling “suicidal. “
In a new Vanity Fair report, Till says he was subjected to intimidation, verbal abuse and shame by Lenkov, who was fired by CBS Television Studios earlier this month after an investigation into a complaint about a toxic environment in MacGyver
“I’ve never worked so hard in my life, and I’m fine with hard work,” Till tells Maureen Ryan of Vanity Fair. “But the way Peter treats people is simply unacceptable. I committed suicide that first year on the show, because of the way it made me feel. But the way he’s treated the people around me, that’s just my breaking point. “
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The magazine reports that Till told CBS Human Resources in writing about the body’s shame. “There was always something about my appearance that would not please him, like when I was in a hospital gown … [Lenkov] I said that my legs were “horrible” and that we can never show them again. Honestly, I also found some humor in that comment, but you can imagine if that was a more sensitive point that he had hit, and that he often did. Just like the moment you screamed [a director] ‘Oh my God the King! He pulls his shirt in, he looks like a ‘king’ boy … I’ve struggled to keep ‘men’s weight’ on the show because of stress, no time to exercise, and an unpredictable schedule for proper eating. “
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A Lenkov spokesman told Vanity Fair that Till’s allegations are “100 percent false and untrue”, and that the former showrunner “defended” Till “from the start and has been nothing more than his support.”
CBS Television Studios fired Lenkov from the two series he developed, produced executive and showran, MacGyver and Magnum PI on July 7, ending his general deal with the studio.
In a statement, CBS Television Studios said: “Peter Lenkov is no longer the executive producer who oversees MacGyver and Magnum PI., and the study has ended her relationship with him. Our studio is committed to ensuring safe and respectful production environments. Over the past year, we’ve assigned HR production partners to each show, expanded staff training, and expanded reporting options. We will continue to evolve our practices with an ongoing focus on building trust with everyone who works on our sets. Every complaint is taken seriously, every complaint is investigated, and when the evidence is clear that policies were violated and values were not respected, we took decisive action. ”
Lenkov then replied: “Now is the time to listen and I am listening. It’s hard to hear that the work environment I was running was not the work environment my colleagues deserved, and so I am deeply sorry. I accept responsibility for what I hear and I promise to do the work that is required to improve and be better. “
