Actors on the Paramount+ series Tulsa King have alleged that both star Sylvester Stallone and director and executive producer Craig Zisk were verbally abusive towards them on set.
Rumors began to circulate on Facebook acting groups over the weekend, detailing a volatile on-set altercation that had taken place on Thursday between Stallone and a group of background actors, more commonly known as extras. The casting director for Tulsa King also reportedly left the production in the wake of the incident.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show’s production company, 101 Films, is reportedly investigating the claims, which have yet to be verified. The publication also obtained a screenshot of a Facebook post which outlines the allegations.
“While working on [Tulsa King] this week, Sylvester Stallone was observed calling the director over and saying, ‘What the [expletive] is up with these [expletive] ugly background [actors]?'" the post claimed. "He and the director proceeded to call certain people terrible names and laughed at them. ‘Tub of lard,’ ‘fat guy with cane,’ and was making fun of their weight and handicaps. Sly said, ‘Bring in pretty young girls to be around me.’”
Background actors are not typically given lines of dialogue, but rather are used to populate a scene. Typically, there is no audition process for extras, who are paid around $100 for up to 12 hours of work and are cast on-site with a headshot from online databases. As a result, a given group of background talent typically contains people from all walks of life who may not have any previous on-set experience.
Writer Julie Benson, who has no professional affiliation with Tulsa King, shared a screenshot of another Facebook post rumored to be written by Rose Locke of CL Casting; the company which parted ways with the show.
“I have been informed of certain things that happened on Thursday,” Locke wrote. “I came [on Friday] to see what was happening. At the end of the day, I resigned because it was a clear toxic environment that I was not comfortable putting myself or background artists in. I will finish out this coming week and someone else will take over. I want to apologize for anything you experienced. I would also like you to text me … what you experienced, saw, or heard. I will be sending the info to HR.”
Got this disturbing news from my Atlanta friend who’s background on Tulsa King this wk. Casting agent quit because she was so disgusted. My friend is feeling anxious about working now. @TheSlyStallone what do you have to say for yourself, sir? Beyond disappointed, I’m livid. pic.twitter.com/EYEuiaWtkf
— Julie Benson (@TheJulieBenson) April 9, 2024
One of the actors who claimed to be on set at the time of Thursday’s altercation commented on the official announcement that CL Casting would no longer be working on Tulsa King.
“I was there, right behind Mr. Stallone. He shouted to the director to come over here. Lot’s of F-bombs dropped. Stallone was very upset with the look of the background actors,” the actor noted. “Said they were hideous and old and fat. Next thing, people are being told to go back to holding, and younger people were brought in.”
However, Zisk vehemently denied to TMZ that there was any sort of commotion on the set. Paradoxically, he also admitted to being unsatisfied with the look of the extras and having a disagreement with Locke regarding their casting.
Zisk contends that the scene in question took place in a hip nightclub, so the extras were supposed to be within the 25 to 35-year-old bracket. According to Zisk, he arrived on set to find the background actors considerably older than he expected. However, the director claims the extras were “polite and did their jobs.” He claims that Stallone never made any remarks about "pretty young women" because the star's wife, Jennifer Flavin, was present at the time.
After filming wrapped on Thursday, Zisk claims he spoke with Locke about the casting, instructing her that in the future he’d need to see pictures of extras before they were cast. Locke allegedly responded, “I don’t work that way.” Zisk claims he told her, “That’s the way I work and everyone I know works that way in extras casting.”
Zisk claims Locke initially agreed to the new terms, but called him back an hour later and resigned.
Notably, several other actors who claimed to be present on set Thursday reported that they didn’t witness anything unusual. “I noticed nothing out of the ordinary on set,” one claimed. “One of the directors was a bit feisty with his, ‘Let’s be quiet or keep it down so we can work,’ yet I have heard that on every set. Not a big deal.”
One person, however, seemed to indicate there was an incident despite not being personally upset by it. “There were some remarks made that I personally heard,” they said. “Things could have been handled more tactfully, but it’s their show.”
Locke did not return a request for comment from Men’s Journal. Stallone and Paramount+ likewise declined comment to The Hollywood Reporter.
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