“Law & Order: SVU” has pulled its upcoming episode featuring Timothy Busfield as a guest star following recent charges of child sex abuse against the “The West Wing” actor.
The installment featuring Busfield, which was slated to air this Thursday, will be replaced with the episode originally set to debut on Thursday, Jan. 22, an individual with knowledge told TheWrap. Busfield, who was first featured in “SVU” back in 2011, was set to reprise his character in the upcoming episode, which will likely not see the light of day.
The news comes just days after local news reported that Busfield was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and an open count of child abuse, which stemmed from investigation into his relationship with child actors he directed on Fox’s “The Cleaning Lady.”
Busfield directed six episodes on “The Cleaning Lady” from 2022-2025, and the investigation began in November 2024, when a doctor called police officers to the University of New Mexico Hospital upon concerns that two boys who were actors on the show had been groomed.
The mother of the two boys told officers that when she asked her then-11-year-old children “if anyone had ever touched them in a manner that made them feel uncomfortable,” they responded, “You mean like Uncle Tim?” — the nickname that Busfield asked the actors to call him, according to the affidavit.
Per court documents, the children said “Uncle Tim” would tickle them on the stomach and legs, despite not enjoying it, and later the children said they had been touched inappropriately by Busfield in their private areas while on set.
Busfield is best known for starring in “Field of Dreams,” “The West Wing,” “Thirtysomething” and “Revenge of the Nerds.” His directing work includes “FBI,” “Chicago Med,” “Law & Order,” “FBI: Most Wanted” and “Nashville,” among others.
