The 'Arrested Development' actor, who has publicly denied all allegations against him, walked the premiere carpet for the Netflix series' fifth season on Thursday.
Jeffrey Tambor is feeling “great” at his first public event since departing Transparent following allegations of sexual assault.
ET’s Sophie Schillaci caught up with the cast of Arrested Development at the Netflix comedy’s season five premiere on Thursday, and asked Tambor how it felt to be back in the spotlight after a tumultuous year.
“It feels great,” the 73-year-old actor remarked, as he walked the red carpet alongside his wife, Kasia Ostlun. “I'm excited to be here.”
Tambor departed Transparent -- the Amazon original series for which he won two Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Maura Pfefferman -- in February, following accusations of sexual harassment by former assistant Van Barnes and his co-star, Trace Lysette, whose accusations he has publicly denied.
The actor, who plays family patriarch George Bluth (as well as his wayward twin brother, Oscar) on Arrested Development, was supported by his fellow cast and crew at the premiere on Thursday, and many said they were glad to work with Tambor again on the new season.
“I can’t wait to see him again,” said Jason Bateman, who plays Tambor’s on-screen son, Michael Bluth. “Those scenes with him were incredible, and I can’t wait to see them up there.”
“I love Jeffrey. He’s great,” added Portia de Rossi. “He’s been a pal for many, many years and you know, I wish him well. We support him.”
"There's been some texts, and some phone calls, and some emails," Jason Bateman said of how much contact the cast has had with Tambor over the past year. "I can't wait to see him again."
Another of Tambor’s co-stars, David Cross, stood by his earlier defense of his colleague, saying, “I don’t condone any actions. It doesn’t necessarily mean I'm going to just stop being somebody’s friend, you know? I support him as a human being as a person.”
Series creator Mitch Hurwitz also told ET that there were “never conversations” about not having Tambor back on Arrested Development following his Transparent departure.
“These are accusations that he denied,” Hurwitz noted. “I've worked with him for 20 years, I've never seen that behavior.”
After the accusations against Tambor arose in November, Amazon initiated an investigation into Barnes and Lysette’s claims. A few weeks later, Tambor publicly denied the allegations and told ET in a statement that "playing Maura Pfefferman on Transparent has been one of the greatest privileges and creative experiences of my life. What has become clear over the past weeks, however, is that this is no longer the job I signed up for four years ago."
“Amazon didn’t share with me any of what they discovered,” Hurwitz added. “And so it was very easy for me to say no, of course I'm not going to end Arrested Development and throw out all our work based on accusations. I don’t think we want to live in a world where accusations alone determine everyone's fate.”
See more on Tambor in the video below. Arrested Development season five launches globally May 29 on Netflix.
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