Earlier this week, "The Office" alum Rainn Wilson announced his new scripted comedy series, "Hollywood and Vine," about the lives of five Vine stars. The cast was set to include Curtis Lepore, Jerry Purpdrank, Lele Pons, Simone Shepherd and Christian DelGrosso, who collectively have 30 million followers on Vine. But backlash soon fired up over the inclusion of Lepore, who was charged with raping his ex-girlfriend in January. The Vine star later pled no contest to felony assault and the rape charges were subsequently dropped.
On Thursday, Wilson posted on his Facebook that he was aware of the concerns of Lepore's casting and that his company behind the series, SoulPancake, was evaluating their decision.
On Friday, however, Wilson announced that Lepore would no longer be involved in "Hollywood and Vine." Wilson said the decision to part ways with Lepore was a mutual one and was "the best decision for everyone involved."
Lepore has yet to make a statement about the news, but he did tweet a photo of himself covered in raffle tickets Friday night. HuffPost Entertainment emailed Lepore to see if he had any further comment; this post will be updated if and when he responds.
For more, head to Deadline.com.
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