Thomas Gibson is going to need a major apology tour if he hopes to get his career back on track, a PR expert says.
“Beyond everything else, he has to sincerely apologize,” EKC Public Relations founder Eileen Koch told TheWrap about the former “Criminal Minds” lead. “And he needs to go to anger management or something. Make the attempt.”
Gibson was let go from “Criminal Minds” last week following an on-set incident in which he kicked a show writer in the leg. The CBS series’ lead had appeared on 255 episodes of the popular procedural.
The matter was officially taken up with CBS after the writer complained to his agent. Gibson, who was also directing the episode, was put on ice for two episodes before ultimately being released. For his part, Gibson has said he kicked the staffer in retaliation after he became “aggressive.”
“I would really tell him, ‘Be humble,'” Koch said of Gibson. “He should get to the point of saying like, ‘I feel humiliated and embarrassed that I behaved that way, like a kid in school. Even then, it’s 150 percent wrong.'”
This is not the first time Gibson’s temper has gotten the better of him either. He was previously sent to anger management after an argument with a “Criminal Minds” assistant director.
“He has an issue, like an alcoholic,” Koch said. “And if he has an issue, he needs to say, ‘I paid a big price. I lost my job and I’m not going to let this happen again.’ That’s all he can do…Once we get this kind of apology, we all tend to forgive and forget.”
'Criminal Minds' Star Thomas Gibson and 9 More TV Stars Fired Amid Controversy (Photos)
"Criminal Minds" star Thomas Gibson, who got the boot from the CBS show following reports that he kicked a writer on set, isn't the only small-screen star to say "sayonara" on the heels of controversy.
John Amos claimed that he was fired from ground-breaking 1970s comedy "Good Times" after clashing with producers over the direction of the show. Amos' character, family patriarch James Evans, was subsequently killed off. Nothing funny about that. Damn, damn, damn.
Mackenzie Phillips was fired not once, but twice, from the sitcom "One Day at a Time" (1975-74) as the actress struggled with substance abuse.
Janet Hubert was replaced in her role as Vivian Banks on "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" in 1993, amid reports of serious tension with series star Will Smith.
Lisa Bonet, who played second daughter Denise Huxtable on "The Cosby Show," returned to the series in 1989 after starring in the spinoff "A Different World," but was axed due to "creative differences."
Nicollette Sheridanclaimed in a lawsuit that her "Desperate Housewives" character, Edie Britt, was killed off in 2009 after she accused series boss Marc Cherry of assaulting her. The legal saga over the firing has dragged on nearly as long as her tenure on the series.
Charlie Sheen got kicked to the curb from his "Two and a Half Men" gig in 2011 following a string of bizarre behavior, including insults aimed at series boss Chuck Lorre. As revenge, Lorre killed off a Sheen stand-in with a piano during the comedy's series finale.
Isaiah Washington was shown the door on the ABC drama "Grey's Anatomy" in 2007 after allegedly hurling a homophobic slur in castmate T.R. Knight's direction.
Another Shondaland alum, Columbus Short, said bye-bye to his gig on ABC's "Scandal" in 2014 amid claims that he committed domestic violence, though he later attributed his sacking to cocaine abuse.
TBS canned CeeLo Green's reality series "The Good Life" days after Green pleaded no contest to a felony charge of giving a woman the drug ecstasy.
After more than a decade as Aaron Hotchner on "Criminal Minds," Thomas Gibson got the boot from the CBS show in 2016 following reports that he kicked a writer on the series while directing an episode.
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Gibson is the latest television actor to get the heave-ho after misbehaving, but he’s certainly not the first
"Criminal Minds" star Thomas Gibson, who got the boot from the CBS show following reports that he kicked a writer on set, isn't the only small-screen star to say "sayonara" on the heels of controversy.
