Matthew Morrison has hit back at claims about his exit from “So You Think You Can Dance”.
The “Glee” actor was reportedly fired from the TV series after sending “flirty” messages to a contestant, but the actor took to social media to respond to the “blatantly untrue” claims.
In a video posted to Instagram on Thursday, Morrison said: “It’s really unfortunate that I have to sit here and defend myself and my family against blatantly untrue statements made anonymously, but I have nothing to hide.
Watch video:
“So in the interest of transparency, I will read to you one of the messages I wrote to a dancer on the show.”
The 43-year-old star says his message read: “Hey, it's Matthew. If you don't mind, would love to get your number and talk you through some things.”
He continued: “The end. I sent this because this dancer and I both share a mutual respect for a choreographer that I’ve known for over 20 years and I was trying to help her get a job as a choreographer on the show.”
The Broadway star slammed the “toxic gossip” being spread about his exit from the programme.
He said: “It’s devastating that we live in this world where gossip rules and people’s lives are being thrown around as clickbait.
“I think this is much bigger than me and this story. Gossip is toxic and it is destroying our society, and we need to do better.”
Despite the controversy surrounding his exit, Morrison explained that he wished the contestants and his fellow judges on the show “all the best”.
He said: “And no way do I want this to take away from the show because dance has always been a unifying and healing modality, and I genuinely wish all the contestants and my fellow judges all the best.”