Larry Wilcox has admitted his exit from “CHiPs” was not his choice, alleging his former co-star Erik Estrada got him “fired” from the crime drama amid their infamous feud.
Wilcox — who played Officer Jon Baker for five seasons on the NBC series between 1977 and 1982—dropped the bombshell confession while appearing on an episode of “Still Here Hollywood Podcast with Steve Kmetko” on Monday, where he rehashed his beef with Estrada and gave new insight into his departure from the show.
The actor didn’t hold back when describing Estrada, as he recalled thinking his former co-star was the “biggest egotistical a–hole” he’d ever met.
Per Wilcox, Estrada — who played Officer Frank “Ponch” Poncherello for the entire six-season run of “CHiPs” — had sued MGM and NBC after a couple on-set accidents filming the show, and his removal from the cast was allegedly part of Estrada’s “demands.”
“‘So [NBC Executive Brandon Tartikoff] said as much as he hates to do this, he really has no choice,’” Wilcox said as he recalled his agent telling him the news. “‘And Larry, Erik wants you out of there, and some other actors also. And you’re gone. I’m sorry.’”
Wilcox claimed his team worked hard to come up with a strategy to make it look like he left the show on his own accord, as he didn’t want “look like the loser here.”
“It was kind of troubling to say the least, right? Abandonment, disloyalty, all the things that I get upset about,” he added.
And while Wilcox noted he was “angry” at Estrada for a long time, he eventually decided to move on from the drama — and even embrace his once nemesis as a friend.
As he put it, he refused to “wallow in vengeance,” and instead chose to “love on him unconditionally.”
According to Wilcox, this fresh start allowed them to become best friends and made it possible for them to reunite for the “CHiPs” reunion movie, which aired on TNT in October 1998.
He concluded, “I actually enjoy him now. I watch him as a spectator. Like all of us, I see good and bad in Erik Estrada, but a lot of entertainment. He’s an entertainer that loves to be an entertainer. So be it. God bless him.”
TheWrap has reached out to Estrada’s rep for comment and did not immediately hear back.
You can watch the full “Still Here Hollywood Podcast with Steve Kmetko” in the video above.
