MacGyver star Lucas Till says he was suicidal during season 1 due to abuse from series showrunner Peter Lenkov. Till has played the younger version of the titular role in the CBS reboot of the classic series for four seasons. Lenkov served as executive producer on the show, along with two other CBS reboots of classic shows, Hawaii Five-O and Magnum P.I.

CBS fired Lenkov from MacGyver and Magnum P.I. following an investigation over claims that the producer created a toxic work environment. Complaints made against Lenkov accused him of being manipulative and abusive and favoring male employees over female employees. Lenkov was let go from his overall deal with CBS TV Studios and will be replaced by Monica Macer on MacGyver and Eric Guggenheim on Magnum P.I. Lenkov gave a public statement, saying, "I accept responsibility for what I am hearing and am committed to doing the work that is required to do better and be better." Now, the MacGyver star is speaking out about his experience with the producer.

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Till told Vanity Fair that the abuse he suffered from Lenkov on set drove him to feel suicidal during his first year on the show. "I've never worked this hard in my life, and I am fine with hard work," Till said. "But the way Peter treats people is just unacceptable. I was suicidal that first year on the show, because of the way he made me feel. But the way he's treated the people around me- that's just my breaking point." According to Till, he was also always being criticized by Lenkov for his looks. He wrote in an email to CBS' HR department,

There was always something about my appearance that wouldn't please him like when I was in a hospital gown and our producer... thought it was funny that [Lenkov] said my legs were 'f**king hideous' and we can never show them again. Honestly, I found some humor in that comment as well, but you can imagine if that was a more sensitive spot he had hit, and often did. Just like the time he had screamed at [a director] 'Oh, my f**king God! Tuck his shirt in, he looks like a little f**king boy!

George Eads and Lucas Till in MacGyver

Till went on to write, "I've struggled with maintaining 'man weight' on the show because of the stress, no time to work out, and an unpredictable schedule for proper nourishment." Till said he went to top executives at CBS to complain about Lenkov and the work environment he was creating, in 2017 and again this year. Both times his complaints were brushed off. "I think they just took it as some crazy actor trying to get more money," he said. "Essentially, they didn't take it seriously." Lenkov's attorney denied Till's allegations of mistreatment, saying they were "100 percent false and untrue," and that the former producer "has championed Till from the very beginning and has been nothing but supportive of him." 

The Hollywood culture of workplace abuse and mistreatment seems to continually repeat itself. People with power in the industry, like Lenkov, often have a history of abuse and scandal that tend to get overlooked in the interest of getting shows or movies made, rather than the quality of the environment for the cast and crew. It's hard to believe that Lenkov was able to get away with bullying and body-shaming the star of a show, but it does prove that people are still scared to stand up to the boss.

Though it took CBS almost three years since first hearing Till's complaints to take action against Lenkov, the decision to cut ties with the former producer is a step in the right direction and should serve as a warning to Hollywood to respect their cast and crew. Hopefully, Till will have a more comfortable and safe experience working on MacGyver for its fifth season now that changes have been made behind the camera.

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Source: Vanity Fair