Legends Of Tomorrow Star Quits The Show And Trashes The Studio

The Legends of Tomorrow star took to social media to trash talk the executives.

By Faith McKay | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

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Sometimes, it’s a good idea to have someone you trust proofread your social media posts for you. This is great advice if you’re not clear-headed. It’s especially important advice if you have a social media following in the millions. Someone maybe should have told the Legends of Tomorrow star Dominic Purcell this advice. The actor has two million followers on his Instagram. In what must have been a dark moment, he posted a couple of long posts on the social network. It’s surprising that no one stepped in after his first post. Hopefully, someone has taken his phone away after the second.

While the Legends of Tomorrow star deleted his posts, once something has been posted for two million people to see, it’s hard to really get rid of. ComicBook.com and other outlets managed to document the original captions. In his first post, Dominic Purcell made clear that he was leaving The CW show and that he had no good feelings toward the network.

He wrote this post announcing he was leaving Legends of Tomorrow: “Deal isn’t done. I have no interest. What ever cash they throw on the corporate level. Im walking away from @cw_legendsoftomorrow. It’s been a total pleasure and a humbling experience bringing @dccomics iconic character #heatwave (aka) MICK RORY to life. I smashed this character— not an actor in the world could have done better. FACT….” He then continued on, saying, “Time to move on and see how shit unfolds. @caitylotz @nickzano look after the kids coming through. They need education. They are a number— teach them to not rely on loyalty from the studio. The studio does not care. The actors work ethic and talent must give them the confidence to question authority. ….Much love to all. It’s not lost on me how very fortunate I am. …..ACTORS HIT ME UP ON DM.”

dominic purcell the cw

So, okay. While it’s a bit disjointed, it clearly reads that the actor is leaving Legends of Tomorrow, the six-season show on The CW. He doesn’t respect the studio and feels that other actors need to be protected from the way The CW handles their stars. And things were so terrible that he would never go back, no matter how much they paid him to return to the show.

But then the Legends of Tomorrow star deleted that post and came back with a new one and a very different attitude. In this caption, he claimed to have been kidding. At least about parts of it. He wrote, “WHY SO SERIOUS…….. MY last post I needed a laugh. It was a joke and The press went nuts and yes I will always fuck with the press it’s fun watching them be click-bated— Truth is yes I am leaving @cw_legendsoftomorrow but will come back periodically, it’s a handshake deal with my boss Phil Klemmer. I don’t have a beef with studio @warnerbrostv. I don’t have a beef with anyone except myself haha. …Shit woke up this morning like I’d caused mass #riots …. emails , phone calls. But what a genius negotiation move. I am loved…… ps. My dear friends the press got a great one for ya next week. Ya gonna love it.”

So in this second post, he clarified that he has no problem at all with Legends of Tomorrow. He claimed to have a “handshake deal” with Warner Bros that he would return to the role. Of course, a “handshake deal” seems less secure, especially after inflammatory social media posts. Gina Carano had a contract and was still fired from The Mandalorian after her social media behavior. While that may be the case, Dominic Purcell says that he is leaving the show, but claims that he only posted the first post simply to stir up the media and get attention. Then, he proceeded to delete that post as well. As of this writing, he hasn’t addressed the situation on his Instagram. The CW has not addressed the fact that Dominic Purcell will apparently no longer be playing Heat Wave on the show.

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If it was The CW’s choice, they may not have mentioned the actor quitting for a while yet. Season six of Legends of Tomorrow premieres on May 2nd. While Purcell has now quit the show, he appears to be in season six. You can see the actor in the trailer for the season. It may have made more sense to audiences to inform them that Heat Wave wouldn’t return, or would return with a different actor, at a different date. Presumably, after the network decided what they would do about Heat Wave.

Since he deleted the posts, there is no longer any kind of announcements from Purcell or The CW about Heat Wave leaving Legends of Tomorrow, but it does seem safe to assume that Dominic Purcell won’t be appearing after season six.