Tulsa King embroiled in new Sylvester Stallone controversy

Taylor Sheridan’s Tulsa King has hit a bump in the road during production after background actors have accused its star of poor treatment.

Production on Tulsa King Season 2 has attracted some controversy after the casting agency used to find background actors announced they would not be working with the show any longer.

Rose Locke Casting of Atlanta announced on their Facebook page on April 8 that they were parting ways with the Taylor Sheridan show after background artists had accused Sylvester Stallone of making disparaging comments.

The agency wrote: “We wanted to send you an update on the happenings here in our casting world. We have chosen to part ways with Tulsa King. We will be finishing up next week and the 12th will be our last day. We send well wishes to whomever takes over the show. We thank all of you great background artists for your continued support.”

The allegations against Stallone (and an unnamed director on the second season) came from a private Facebook group for Atlanta-based actors. Though the group itself is only visible to members, screenshots of posts shared online show allegations of Stallone asking the director: “What the f*** is up with these f****** ugly background?”

According to the post, names were directed at some members of the background cast, including: “Tub of lard” and “fat guy with cane.” It was also alleged that Stallone said: “Bring in pretty young girls to be around me.” The posts have since made their way around circles for background actors, who are being urged to reach out if similar experiences were had or witnessed.

Another Facebook group for actors in Charleston SC, run by Dee Dee McDaniel Simmons, also posted about the matter.

“Several groups are talking about what happened on the set of Tulsa King filming in Atlanta,” it said. “At first I had hoped it was just a bad rumor started by 1 person who may have felt some type of way; but there have been countless people who were on set and have stated what they saw, how they were treated, etc.

“Sadly Sly Stallone and crew made things miserable for the background artists and many have said the set was completely unprofessional and a total mess. Although I have not personally worked with Rose Locke & CL Casting…I have great respect for them for pulling out of the project and looking out for their background artists.”