Emily Carter
Nicole Beharie's exit from the Fox series Sleepy Hollow sparked controversy among fans due to her role as the show's female black lead. Beharie's character, Detective Abbie Mills, was killed off at the end of season 3, leading to accusations of racism and discrimination on set. In interviews following her departure, Beharie revealed that she left due to an auto-immune disease and felt blacklisted by the industry. She described a very us-against-her environment and instances of bias, such as an all-white staff discussing a Black woman's hair.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of the black female lead in Sleepy Hollow | Nicole Beharie |
| Name of Beharie's character | Detective Abbie Mills |
| Reason for Beharie's departure from the show | Auto-immune disease |
| Other reasons for Beharie's departure from the show | Systemic discrimination, bias, and a "very us-against-her environment" |
| Other issues faced by Beharie on the set of Sleepy Hollow | Spending more time in hair and makeup than her male co-star, Tom Mison; facing resistance from the all-white staff about wearing her hair naturally |
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What You'll Learn
Nicole Beharie's 2016 exit from Sleepy Hollow
Nicole Beharie's exit from the Fox series Sleepy Hollow in 2016 was abrupt and sparked controversy among fans, who were unhappy about the departure of the show's female black lead. Beharie's character, Detective Abbie Mills, was killed off in the season 3 finale.
In 2019, Beharie revealed that she left the show partly because of an autoimmune disease. She told the San Diego Union-Tribune that she felt she had been treated unequally when she became unwell during the show's production:
> "My costar and I were both sick at the same time but I don’t believe that we were treated equally. He was allowed to go back to England for a month [to recover while] I was given Episode 9 to shoot on my own. So I pushed through it and then by the end of that episode I was in urgent care."
Beharie also said she had daily checkups “to make sure I was actually sick” and felt pressured to keep working despite her illness:
> "There’s a lot of pressure in a situation like that where so many people are relying on you alone to get up and get going."
After her exit, Beharie said she felt she had been blacklisted and struggled to find work. She reflected on the experience in interviews with The San Diego Union-Tribune and The New York Times in 2020, saying:
> "I feel like it’s taken me the last few years to really see clearly that it wasn’t personal, it’s about the way that these structures are set up. It was very difficult to talk about at the time because I wanted to get back to work. But I was labeled as problematic and blacklisted by some people."
Beharie's exit from Sleepy Hollow appears to have been a difficult and controversial experience, with the actress facing health issues, unequal treatment, and backlash within the industry. However, she has since come to terms with the situation and has taken on new roles, including a starring role in Miss Juneteenth.
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Beharie's experience of being blacklisted
Nicole Beharie, who played Detective Abbie Mills in the Fox series Sleepy Hollow, left the show in 2016, sparking controversy among fans over the exit of the show's female black lead. Beharie revealed that she left the show, in part, because of an autoimmune disease. She also spoke about her experiences of being "blacklisted" after her exit.
Beharie recalled an incident where both she and her costar Tom Mison fell ill during filming of the first season. While Mison was granted permission to travel back to England to recover, Beharie was asked to shoot an episode on her own. She pushed through but ended up in urgent care by the end of the episode. Following this incident, she was labelled as "problematic" and blacklisted by some people. She faced other challenges, such as dealing with a wig that didn't fit her properly and spending more time in hair and makeup than her costar.
In later seasons, Beharie had her own hair and makeup team. However, when she debuted a new wig in season three with more natural curls, a group of white male writers and producers spent time debating whether it looked professional. This incident was described by writer Shernold Edwards, who experienced several insensitive situations while working on Sleepy Hollow.
In her book, Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood, Maureen Ryan argues that Sleepy Hollow failed to live up to the promise it made in its first season to its Black characters and viewers. Ryan suggests that systemic discrimination and bias fueled many of the conflicts on the show. She describes a "very us-against-her environment" cultivated against Beharie by a predominantly all-white male staff. Multiple people with power, including some who had never met Beharie, claimed that she was "difficult" to work with.
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Abbie Mills' death in season 3
Grace Abigail "Abbie" Mills was a co-protagonist and the Second Witness in the first three seasons of the television series Sleepy Hollow. She was a leading character in the show, and her dynamic with co-star Ichabod "Crane" was the driving force behind the series. Abbie was a black woman in a leading role, which was rare and contributed to the show's popularity.
In 2016, at the end of season 3, Abbie Mills was killed off in the finale, shocking the show's fans. Her death was described as "a very dramatic ending and a bold move for the show". Abbie sacrificed her soul and her life in a bid to defeat Pandora, one of the "big bads" of the season.
The actress who played Abbie, Nicole Beharie, left the series due to an autoimmune disease. She later revealed that she felt her illness was not treated equally compared to her co-star, who was allowed time off to recover. Beharie also stated that she believed that "everyone of color on that show was seen as expendable and eventually let go". Her departure from the show had a significant impact on her career, and Sleepy Hollow was never the same without her. The series was cancelled after a low-rated season 4.
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Allegations of racism on set
In 2016, Nicole Beharie, the female Black lead of the Fox series Sleepy Hollow, made a shocking exit from the show, sparking an uproar among fans. In the years following her departure, Beharie appeared in much smaller roles in Monsters and Men and Black Mirror.
Beharie's exit from Sleepy Hollow was, in part, due to an auto-immune disease. However, in recent interviews, she has revealed more details about her experiences on set, including allegations of racism and being "blacklisted" after her exit.
In her book, Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood, Maureen Ryan argues that Sleepy Hollow failed to live up to the promise it made in its first season to its Black characters and Black viewers. Ryan's book alleges a "very us-against-her environment" for the show's Black female lead, Beharie, and details a production described as "hellish" and "miserable".
Ryan's book also chronicles an incident involving the all-white staff discussing what should be done about a Black woman's hair. Additionally, Ryan acknowledges that while she may never know exactly what happened on set, she believes that systemic discrimination and bias fueled many of the conflicts.
In support of Ryan's claims, one source recounts an incident where Campbell, the showrunner, yelled at a Black writer, Edwards, for allowing a small dialogue change on the first day of shooting. Edwards also claimed that Campbell cried in her presence when he felt accused of racial bias. She recalled another incident where a Black writer stormed out after stating that two Black characters on the show shouldn't both turn evil.
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Sleepy Hollow's failure to live up to its promise to Black characters and viewers
Sleepy Hollow has been criticized for its failure to live up to its promise to Black characters and viewers. The show has been accused of racial bias and discrimination against its Black cast and writers, particularly its Black female lead, Nicole Beharie, who played Detective Abbie Mills.
Beharie's departure from the show in 2016 sparked controversy and uproar among fans, as she was the show's female Black lead. Beharie's character was killed off at the end of season 3, and in the years following her exit, she spoke out about her experiences on set, revealing a "very us-against-her environment" and instances of feeling blacklisted within the industry. Beharie also disclosed that she left due to an autoimmune disease.
In Maureen Ryan's book, *Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood*, she argues that Sleepy Hollow fell short of the promise it made in its first season to its Black characters and audience. Ryan's book includes accounts of a hostile work environment for Black talent, with one writer, Edwards, describing their time on the show as "hellish". The book also details instances where Beharie was treated differently from her white male co-star, as well as an incident involving the all-white staff discussing a Black woman's hair.
These allegations highlight a pattern of racial bias and discrimination within the show's production, underscoring Sleepy Hollow's failure to adequately support and represent its Black cast and creative team.
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Frequently asked questions
Nicole Beharie, the black female lead on Sleepy Hollow, left the show in 2016 due to an autoimmune disease and issues with the show's environment.
Sleepy Hollow showrunner, Len Wiseman, has been accused of racism and discrimination by former cast and crew, including Beharie.
Following her departure from Sleepy Hollow, Beharie took on smaller roles in Monsters and Men and Black Mirror.
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