F. Murray Abraham apologizes after sexual misconduct claims

F. Murray Abraham apologized Thursday following reports he was fired from the Apple TV+ series "Mythic Quest" because of sexual misconduct allegations.

"This is a sincere and deeply felt apology," the Academy Award winner, 83, said in a statement to Newsday. "Though never my intention to offend anyone, I told jokes, nothing more, that upset some of my colleagues and as a result lost a great job with wonderful people."

He added, "I have grown in my understanding from this experience, and I hope they will forgive me."

Abraham, who appeared in the first two seasons of the streaming workplace comedy that premiered in 2020, was fired ahead of the recent third season, with the production company Lionsgate telling Vanity Fair magazine in April 2022 that he would "not be returning to season three of 'Mythic Quest.' Beyond that, we do not comment on matters concerning personnel.” His character C.W. Longbottom, a science-fiction writer for a highly successful video game company, was written off the series as having died.

On Monday,  Rolling Stone magazine reported that sexual misconduct allegations had prompted his dismissal. An anonymous production source told the magazine one incident merited a warning to stay away from some of the show's female actors. Abraham was let go after a second incident came to the attention of co-creator and star Rob McElhenney.

Lionsgate in a statement Monday had said, “We take allegations of misconduct seriously and investigate them thoroughly. As a matter of corporate policy, we do not discuss our personnel actions.”

In addition to his best actor Oscar for "Amadeus" (1984), Abraham has been nominated three times for an Emmy Award: twice for the Showtime espionage drama "Homeland" and last year for his voice-over role as the supernatural being Khonshu in the Disney+ Marvel Comics series "Moon Knight." Other recent work includes the TV series "The White Lotus" and "Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities."