T.C. Carson is best known for his role as Kyle Barker on the Fox sitcom Living Single. But did you know the actor was fired from the show?
In an interview with Comedy Hype, Carson revealed the circumstances that led to his ouster from the ’90s sitcom classic.
Carson revealed that the reason for his exit stemmed from creative differences between the writers and the cast, particularly in regard to the portrayals of their respective characters.
“I thought it was very important for us to see a young black man that was successful in his business, that was very connected to his heritage and his culture, that treated women a certain way and that treated his friends and his family a certain way – and I hope that came off through that character,” Carson said regarding his portrayal.
He also pointed out how writers wanted to stereotype Kyle’s bond with Overton by trying the make the former the “smart one” and the latter “the dumb one.”
“We went to them and said, ‘Look, we know what you’re trying to do but you cannot put two buffoonish men against four strong women,’” he said. “Two buffoonish black men against four strong black women. You have to think about it differently.”
Carson revealed that he would act as the spokesperson for his cast members during meetings where complaints regarding how the characters of Living Single were portrayed and how the show was marketed were vocalized.
Before Carson’s abrupt exit from Living Single, he was called into another meeting to discuss the complaints the cast members had and revealed he felt singled out.
“The last season before I left, they called me in and they basically said well, ‘All these problems that we’ve been having, they [the cast] listen to you, you’re the person they listen to,’” he explained. “‘So if you said something else, then they would do that.”
In the interview, Carson revealed he was never informed that he was fired during the meeting. It was only after he received a call from his lawyer that his contract for season five would not be renewed.
Watch Carson’s interview below:
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Photo: Warner Bros TV
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