Matthew Morrison‘s empty seat at the judge’s table on “So You Think You Can Dance” has been filled by this celebrity.
As we reported, the “Glee” alum was fired from ‘SYTYCD’ for not following “competition protocol.” It was later revealed he was sending text messages to a female contestant.
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As shared by DEADLINE, the entertainer announced the sad news of his departure in a statement that came not long after the show kicked off its 17th season.
He served as a judge alongside Jojo Siwa and Stephen “tWitch” Boss.
Matthew Morrison’s Replacement Announced!
Siwa and tWitch will now be joined by “King of Queens” actress, Leah Remini.
It was announced on Friday, June 10, the actress will be replacing Morrison at the judge’s table.
She will make her big debut on June 15th for it’s 300th episode.
Leah Remini Is The Newest ‘SYTYCD’ Judge
“I am thrilled to join So You Think You Can Dance on its milestone 300th episode,” Remini said in a statement. “I look forward to guiding these incredibly talented artists through this competition as a fan of the show and a great admirer of dancers. I can’t wait to see the artistry that the contestants bring to the stage!”
Morrison said in his apology, ““Having the opportunity to be a judge on So You Think You Can Dance was an incredible honor for me. Therefore, it is my deepest regret to inform you that I will be leaving the show. I did not follow competition production protocols, preventing me from being able to judge the competition fairly. I cannot apologize enough to all involved.”
However, days after issuing his apology, he changed his tune.
On Thursday, June 2, he published an Instagram video which was captioned, “Just to clarify…”
“It’s really unfortunate I have to sit here and defend myself and my family against blatantly untrue statements made anonymously, but I have nothing to hide,” he said sternly. “SO, in the interest of transparency I will read to you the ONE message that I wrote to a dancer on the show.”
Matthew Says He Has Nothing To Hide
He opened his phone and read the following message, “’Hey, it’s Matthew. If you don’t mind, would love to get your number and talk you through some things.’ The end.”
Morrison explained why he sent the message and his intention behind it.
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“I sent this message, because this dancer and I both share a mutual respect for a choreographer that I’ve known for over 20 years and I was trying to help her get a job as a choreographer on the show. It’s devastating we live in a world gossip rules and people’s lives are being thrown around as clickbait. Um, I think this is much bigger than me and this story, gossip is toxic and is destroying our society, and we need to do better,” Morrison explained. “In no way do I want to take away from the show, because dance has always been unifying and a healing modality and I genuinely wish the contestants and my fellow judges all the best.”
