P-Valley star Elarica Johnson has confirmed her exit from the show, revealing that it was her decision to leave the hit Starz drama.
When asked by Entertainment Weekly when she knew that her character would be written off, the actress said, “Well, actually I knew when it was happening because it was my choice. It’s something I discussed with Katori Hall,” Johnson said. “Looking at the scripts this season, and the journeys of the characters and where the Pynk was going, Autumn’s journey felt like it was coming to an end. She has done what she needed to do and it was time for her to move on.”
Johnson’s character, Autumn Night, left town after a spat with Uncle Clifford (Nicco Annan) and a romantic tryst with Andre Watkins (Parker Sawyers) that may or may not have left her pregnant. Either way, Autumn Night said goodbye to Chucalissa, but took some money from The Pynk to start fresh.
In the interview, Johnson also gives her two cents and what may have transpired between Autumn and Andre had the former stayed in Chucalissa.
“There’s two sides to this in terms of Autumn and Andre for me,” she explained. “I’ve always felt they’re soulmates and if they were where they were supposed to be it would be great. Then there’s another side of Autumn who is always striving for better or needing to push forward and make more for herself, for the memory of her daughter, who may not see settling in Chucalissa as enough for her. Both sides work,” Johnson said. “[They] would make a great couple if there wasn’t so much messy stuff in between. I don’t know what that would look like, but I do know they do have this bond and bringing a child into a relationship with two people who really care for each other could be a good experience for the both of them.”
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Johnson also capped her fond farewell to The Pynk in a heartfelt message on her Instagram page.
“It’s been an insane 3 year journey in the shoes of Autumn Night,” she wrote. “Thank you @katorihall & @starz. I always take a little bit of my characters away with me and Autumn has left quite a mark,” Johnson said. “It was my biggest pleasure working with the cast and crew….I’ll save that for a longer post, but for now…Thank you everyone for all the #love (and hate lol) the support for this show is quite incredible.”
