Tulsa King: The Disturbing Sylvester Stallone Allegations, Explained
Certain behind-the-scenes facts about Taylor Sheridan's hit crime drama "Tulsa King" have led to controversy just months before it's set to make its broadcast debut on CBS. Deadline reports that Rose Locke Casting of Atlanta has chosen to part ways with the Paramount+ series due to complaints made in a private Facebook group for background actors from the region that star Sylvester Stallone, adding to the little-known facts about him, made disparaging remarks about the age and appearance of several of the extras used in a bar scene, requesting they be replaced by younger, more stereotypically attractive individuals.
"We wanted to send you an update on the happenings here in our casting world. We have chosen to part ways with Tulsa King. We will be finishing up next week and the 12th will be our last day. We send well wishes to whomever [sic] takes over the show. We thank all of you great background artists for your continued support," the casting company said in a statement posted on its Facebook page on April 7.
Meanwhile, Season 2 director and executive producer Craig Zisk has vigorously denied the accusations to TMZ, instead claiming that casting supervisor Rose Locke had hired older actors when the production was looking for ones between the ages of 25 and 35 and then refused to provide him with headshots to assess whether they fit the look the production was going for, telling him, "I don't work that way." This led to a minor conflict between them, and Locke allegedly quit an hour later. Zisk did, however, praise the extras in question for their professionalism, one of whom has spoken out about his experience.
One extra thinks Sylvester Stallone was talking about him
Thomas Mooneyham, an extra who worked on the "Tulsa King" set, told Deadline that he was replaced by a "good-looking cowgirl" in the scene and that he believes some of the comments Sylvester Stallone allegedly made were about him — although he didn't hear them himself and was only made aware of them after reading about them in the private Facebook group.
"Now does [being replaced] bother me? Not in the least. What bothers me is that somebody overheard him and the director," he said. "It ain't even the part that I am fat. I wasn't the only big one that was there. But I do feel like I was singled out because they said 'old tub of lard with the cane.' I was the only one there with the cane."
Mooneyham also notably denied that the bar is the young, hip establishment that Craig Zisk told TMZ he had asked Rose Locke to cast for, telling Deadline, "That is just an old roughneck cowboy country bar. And the name [of] the bar, here's my point, is Bred-2-Buck. Tell me how many old bronco-riding cowboys [are there] who are old and who are not hobbled or crippled?"
Further stories from the shoot may be revealed in the future. Deadline reports that Locke — in a post made in the private Facebook group — has urged her clients to come forward if they know of any negative experiences on the drama's set. Time will tell what — if anything — will surface and if these stories will impact the "Tulsa King" universe that may be on the horizon.