'The Goldbergs' Wendi McLendon-Covey Responds to Criticism Over Jeff Garlin Body Double and Superimposed Face
McLendon-Covey responded to a fan who said the 'workarounds' the show has been using since Garlin's exit aren't working.
Wendi McLendon-Covey is clapping back at a fan who criticized the way The Goldbergs is handling Jeff Garlin's exit. Garlin, who played the family patriarch, Murray Goldberg, since the show's inception, had not yet finished production on the show's ninth season when he decided to leave the show. While Garlin told Vanity Fair, earlier this month that he had not been fired from the show, investigations into the comedian's on-set behavior and accusations of misconduct ultimately led to his departure.
The show has since resorted to several workarounds to wrap up its ninth season, including a body double and superimposing Garlin's face on to said actor's body, and viewers aren't exactly thrilled by the creative liberties the ABC sitcom is taking on this one.
On Monday, a fan shared a clip from the show's 200th episode in which he critiqued the show's inclusion of Garlin, calling for the show to instead be canceled.
"They should either cancel The Goldbergs or kill off Jeff Garlin’s character because the workarounds they’ve been using this season ain’t working," the fan wrote on Twitter.
McLendon-Covey's response was swift, explaining to the fan that it's not that easy.
"Thanks for the great suggestion Noel! This season threw us for a loop because a.) it's hard to incorporate someone who doesn't want to be there and wants to leave mid-scene, and b.) we weren't about to re-write the 2nd half of the season. We're doing our best," she wrote.
ET has reached out to both ABC and Sony for comment.
Garlin's exit hasn't been the only setback for the show. Last march, the cast lost George Segal, who played the family's beloved grandfather, Albert "Pops" Solomon, for eight seasons.
Last fall, ET spoke with McLendon-Covey about remembering Segal and how the show planned to pay tribute to him in season 9.
"Our first episode this season is such a tribute to George Segal and the character of Pops, and yet it is also a movie tribute, because that's what we do our first episode of every season," the actress said of the season 9 premiere. "So, this is an homage to Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and we go on our own excellent adventure, trying to figure out where Pops would have wanted his ashes spread. It manages to be funny and heartwarming and tear-jerking, but it's a tribute to the character of Pops, what a beautiful man George Segal was. And we will never stop mentioning him."
See more in the video below.
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