Del Rio was allegedly escorted off the ‘Matlock’ set during filming in early October following an internal investigation into the incident.
WASHINGTON — Actor David Del Rio has reportedly been abruptly fired from the legal drama “Matlock” after being accused of sexual assault.
Reports from Deadline and People suggest that Del Rio was purportedly involved in a sexual assault incident on September 26 with fellow cast member Leah Lewis.
Both actors were regulars on a CBS series, which is a gender-swapped reboot of the classic 1980s show, centering on the legal undertakings of Madeline “Matty” Matlock.
According to USA Today, which referenced sources near the production, Del Rio departed after CBS Studios, the show’s producer, initiated an inquiry regarding the incident.
Allegedly, Del Rio was asked to leave the set in early October following the conclusion of the internal probe. Deadline mentioned that Matlock’s executive producer, Eric Christian Olsen, was part of the group that escorted him off.
Del Rio played attorney Billy Martinez in the legal procedural.
Leah Lewis, portraying the character Sarah Franklin, shared and later removed an Instagram Story shortly after the incident came to light, expressing her intention to “move forward” from the occurrence.
The story included a picture of Lewis with her mother.
“Mom is here, we’re moving forward in love and strength. I’m in good hands,” she mentioned in the post. “Thank you to everybody for any kind of support and care. Truly, we’re moving forward in strength. Key word, strength. Please, let that be the takeaway.”
Del Rio has yet to publicly comment on his firing or the alleged assault.
According to Deadline, Thursday night, the Instagram account belonging to his wife, chef and actress Katherine Del Rio, posted a zoomed-in photo of Lewis, along with the caption “This is the most disturbing human being I have ever met.”
The post was deleted shortly after.
She also reportedly posted a Instagram Story that mirrored Lewis’ post, mentioning Lewis by name and blaming her for what “Leah did to our family.”
The photo of Katherine Del Rio and her mother was posted with the caption: “Mom is here. We’re moving forward in love and strength after what Leah did to our family. Thank you all for the love and support!”
That post was also deleted shortly after it went up.
“Matlock” will premiere its second season on Sunday, Oct. 12, at 8:30 p.m. ET. It then shifts to its regular Thursday 9 p.m. ET timeslot on Oct. 16.
