American Gods Star Orlando Jones Claims He Was Fired and Will Not Appear in Season 3

The already drama-riddled Starz series, American Gods, just landed smack dab in the middle of another controversy. Orlando Jones, who plays the trickster god Mr. Nancy, claims he has been fired from the series, and will not be in the upcoming Season 3.

Jones posted a video on Twitter announcing he'd been fired in September, saying, "I was fired from American Gods. There will be no more Mr. Nancy. Don't let these motherf---ers tell you they love Mr. Nancy. They don't. I'm not going to name names but the new Season 3 showrunner is Connecticut born and Yale-educated, so he's very smart and he thinks that Mr. Nancy's angry, get s--- done is the wrong message for black America. That's right. This white man sits in that decision-making chair, and I'm sure he has many black BFFs who are his advisors and made it clear to him that if they did not get rid of that angry god Mr. Nancy, he'd start a Denmark Vesey uprising in this country. I mean, what else could it be?"

The new showrunner Jones is referring to is Charles Eglee, who signed on as showrunner for Season 3 of American Gods after Jesse Alexander stepped down. Alexander had signed on for Season 2 after original showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green departed the series.

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In response to Jones' video, an American Gods spokesperson provided the following statement to TV Guide: "The storylines of American Gods have continually shifted and evolved to reflect the complex mythology of the source material. Mr. Jones' option was not picked up because Mr. Nancy, among other characters, is not featured in the portion of the book we are focusing on within Season 3. Several new characters, many of which have already been announced, will be introduced into Shadow Moon's world that will further contribute to the show's legacy as one of the most diverse series on television."

In the rest of the video, Jones went on to thank others involved with the series for their support. "To the wonderful Neil Gaiman, thank you for allowing me to play this role, for writing this wonderful book, for opening the door for me to become a writer/producer on Season 2 of American Gods, thank you sir," he said. "To the magnificent Bryan Fuller and the incredible Michael Green, thank you for creating this series and for allowing me, also, to become Mr. Nancy. I hope the fans enjoyed it because really this is about you. I hope you loved it as much as I loved doing it."

Jones captioned the video with a promise to always tell fans the truth, writing, "Thank you #AmericanGods fans. I know ya'll have LOTS of questions about the firing. As always I promise to tell you the truth and nothing but. Always, Mr. Nancy."

Michael Green commented on Jones' video, tweeting, "I loved every minute of working with this wonderful man. His talent is [fire emoji] and his [fire emoji] is essential."

Bryan Fuller reponded to Green's comment, writing, "Orlando is a pro, a thoughtful creative partner, an insightful storyteller and a remarkable human being."