Matlock star Leah Lewis has broken her silence after her co-star David Del Río was fired from the CBS legal drama amid sexual assault allegations.
Deadline was first to report that the alleged incident occurred on September 26 and involved Lewis.
“Mom is here, we’re moving forward in love and strength. I’m in good hands,” Lewis, 28, wrote on her Instagram Story Thursday. “Thank you to everybody for any kind of support and care.
“Truly, we’re moving forward in strength. Key word, strength. Please, let that be the takeaway,” she concluded.
Lewis and Del Rio, 38, play first-year associates at the law firm Jacobson Moore in the series starring Kathy Bates as the titular Madeline Matlock.
Lewis’s message comes after the alleged assault was reported on October 2, according to Deadline sources, which triggered an immediate investigation by producers and CBS Studios.
Del Rio was reportedly fired and escorted off the lot the same day, with Matlock executive producer Eric Christian Olsen among those who led him away.
The Independent has approached representatives for Del Rio and Lewis for a statement. CBS Studios confirmed that Del Rio has left the show but declined to comment further on the matter.
Filming on Matlock has continued, and the show’s writers will have to rework scripts to write the Martinez character off the show. The second season is set to premiere on October 12.
In a screenshot captured by Deadline, Del Rio’s wife, actress Katherine Del Rio, briefly posted and deleted a photo with her mom in an Instagram Story that closely resembled Lewis’s on Thursday. “Mom is here,” she wrote. “We’re moving forward in love and strength after what Leah did to our family. Thank you all for the love and support!”
After the release of the first season of Matlock last year, Bates initially appeared to say she would retire, but later claimed she had been “misunderstood.”
“I think it was misunderstood because I had one foot out the door until I read Jennie Urman's script and I was like, ‘okay, now we're talking,’” Bates told ABC News last September. “And I want [Matlock] to run for years and years.”
The show is a reboot of the Eighties and Nineties original, which starred Andy Griffith. Created by Charmed producer Jennie Snyder Urman, the show also stars Jason Ritter and Skye P Marshall.
