Thomas Gibson Responds to ‘Criminal Minds’ Firing

“I had hoped to see it through to the end, but that won’t be possible now,” actor says

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Thomas Gibson has officially addressed his “Criminal Minds” firing.

“I love ‘Criminal Minds’ and have put my heart and soul into it for the last twelve years,” he said in a statement given to TheWrap. “I had hoped to see it through to the end, but that won’t be possible now. I would just like to say thank you to the writers, producers, actors, our amazing crew, and, most importantly, the best fans that a show could ever hope to have.”

Gibson was let go from the ABC Studios-produced procedural after kicking a writer in the leg during a disagreement. He had previously been suspended for two weeks. The CBS series’ lead had appeared on 255 episodes of the popular procedural.

“Thomas Gibson has been dismissed from ‘Criminal Minds,’” CBS Television Studios and production company ABC Studios jointly told TheWrap on Friday. “Creative details for how the character’s exit will be addressed in the show will be announced at a later date.”

The matter was officially taken up with CBS after the writer complained to his agent, we were told yesterday. Gibson, who was also directing the episode, was put on ice for two episodes.

For his part, Gibson said he kicked the staffer in retaliation after he became “aggressive.”

“There were creative differences on the set and a disagreement,” the actor told TheWrap in a statement Thursday. “I regret that it occurred. We all want to work together as a team to make the best show possible. We always have and always will.”

A person with knowledge of the incident told us that there were no injuries or bruising.

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