‘Arrested Development’ Creator Mitch Hurwitz Calls Jeffrey Tambor “Difficult” And “Emotional”

The launch of Season 5 of “Arrested Development” should have been a triumphant moment for series creator Mitch Hurwitz. The man behind one of the best TV comedies of all time was poised to make his big return with the new season of his popular Netflix show. However, that wasn’t to be, as right before the launch of the season 5, controversy reared its ugly head once again. And now, after everything is all said and done, Hurwitz is talking about what happened.

Even before the fateful New York Times interview, which featured cast member Jessica Walter tearfully recalling the verbal abuse she received on set from actor Jeffrey Tambor, there were questions about this upcoming season of “Arrested Development.” Would it be a return to form after a disappointing season 4? Would it be another letdown after years of waiting? But alas, none of that mattered as the conversation all came back to one person – Tambor.

In an interview with Deadline, Hurwitz talks about Tambor, and the multiple claims against the actor from the set of his other series, Amazon’s “Transparent.” They first ask whether Hurwitz still supports the troubled actor.

“I do. Jeffrey refutes those claims, Amazon hasn’t shared details with us, and we’ve never had any sexual harassment allegations of any type on our show—a point that Jessica Walter has made as well,” explained Hurwitz.

READ MORE: ‘Arrested Development Season 5’: Hilarious, But The Money In The Banana Stand Is Running Out [Review]

He would go on to explain in more detail:

“To be clear: in saying this I’m not defending sexual harassment. It is and should be a job-terminating offense. I just don’t have any information on whatever happened there. Nor do I have any evidence of him ever sexually harassing anyone in the 20 years, off and on, that I’ve worked with him. So, right or wrong, sticking with Jeffrey wasn’t really a decision I made at all. And while it doesn’t rise to the level of abuse of power that sexual harassment does, becoming a moral adjudicator of who works and who doesn’t without evidence is also an abuse of power—albeit a lesser one—that I would hope I also wouldn’t intentionally or inadvertently commit.”

Hurwitz doesn’t want anyone to think that Tambor is a saint, however. In fact, he goes on to talk about how the actor has always been “difficult.” “He can be difficult. He’s not a rager, although clearly there was an outburst to Jessica. But outside of that and in general he is an emotional guy who either likes his performance or doesn’t like his performance, and he’s outspoken about it all, and that’s going to be a problem when dealing with people,” Hurwitz said.

“I don’t know what happened on the Amazon set, but I would not be surprised if this kind of behavior was a problem for him on that set. Well, he’s admitted as much to me,” he continued.

READ MORE: Jeffrey Tambor Admits To Being “Difficult” And “Mean” On Set As He Recounts Being Fired From ‘Transparent’

Overall, Hurwitz believes that Tambor will move on from this and learn from it. “In general he’s a guy who’s open to learning and reading and changing, and seeking a spiritual path that’s uncommon in somebody over a certain age. I do think he’ll work to learn and improve himself from this whole experience,” he said.

When Hurwitz was asked if he saw the outburst in person, he admits to only seeing the dailies. However, even though he saw a bit of the altercation, what he saw wasn’t as bad as you might think.

Hurwitz explains, “It felt like your jaw would not have dropped if you saw this daily. On the set itself it must have been incredibly uncomfortable, because we’re all sensitive to that kind of interruption. But apparently he came back [after walking off set] and continued some more, and I defer to Jeffrey and Jessica’s depiction of what happened after, which I think they’re in accord about.”

However, that doesn’t mean that he is denying the effect that the abuse had. In fact, Hurwitz wishes he would have taken care of it sooner and with more effort. “And I wish I’d known, or made a greater effort to know, the pain that it caused,” he concludes.