Kevin Costner Reportedly Had A Physical Altercation With One Yellowstone Co-Star

At the height of its success, "Yellowstone" was among the most watched shows on television. But by the time it came to an end, the series was swirling with scandals as its star, Oscar-winner Kevin Costner, was unceremoniously written out of the show. Rumors ran rampant of chaos on the set (with co-star Wendy Moniz defending Costner), but few knew what was really going on. Recently, however, word got out that Costner himself may have been the cause of the strife with reports that he got into a physical altercation with co-star Wes Bentley during filming.

As detailed by the Hollywood Reporter, Costner and Bentley were filming a scene alongside co-star Kelly Reilly. Costner started demanding on-the-spot rewrites to the Taylor Sheridan-penned script, and Bentley wasn't happy with Costner's proposed changes. Reportedly, Bentley reminded Costner that Taylor Sheridan — not Costner — was in charge of "Yellowstone." This roiled Costner, clearly, because a source on the set claims that Costner's reaction to the comment was physical.

"Kevin didn't like that, and he lunged at him," said the source. "No fists were thrown, but they were in each other's faces, pushing and shoving and just getting hot until they had to be separated." As THR calls it, production was suspended, Reilly was visibly shaken by the ordeal, and the hubbub may have been the straw that broke the camel's back. 

"The incident with Wes was the line in the sand. Everything was different after that," said a different person who was on the set that day. 

The conflict between "Yellowstone" producers and Kevin Costner had been brewing for some time before the actor finally left the series. While audiences were left in the dark as to what was really going on, rumors put the blame on Costner for being difficult and demanding. At the time, Costner shot back, insisting the public gossip wasn't true.

"I haven't felt good about it the last year, what with the way they've talked about it," Costner told Esquire. "It wasn't truthful." According to the star, his issues with the studio stemmed from his contract for the 5th, 6th, and 7th seasons of the show (the latter of which never happened). To his surprise, the studio wanted to renegotiate his deal. But this new deal created an issue for Costner, who already had plans to shoot his epic Western film saga "Horizon" (which faced its own behind-the-scenes drama). 

When he voiced his displeasure, the studio wasn't happy, said Costner, while insisting the tense negotiations were all in an effort to ensure he didn't have to start and stop production. "All I did was protect myself." Now that word is coming out that Costner himself may have been the one to spark confrontations, however, many are wondering once again who is really to blame for John Dutton's sudden exit from "Yellowstone."