LOS ANGELES — “Yellowstone” actor Q’orianka Kilcher says you’re “as smart as paste” if you believe that she illegally collected nearly $100,000 in disability benefits while working on the hit TV series.
After it was announced Monday that she was charged with two felony counts of workers’ compensation fraud, Kilcher took to Instagram on Tuesday to respond. She posted a seafoam green graphic with a drawing of a woman on the phone with a smug smile.
“So you only heard one side of the story and chose to believe it,” the graphic read. “Well now, that makes you as smart as paste doesn’t it.”
Representatives for Kilcher did not immediately respond to the L.A. Times’ request for comment.
Kilcher, 32, is a German-born actor known for her 2020 stint as Angela Blue Thunder during the third season of “Yellowstone,” Paramount’s popular drama starring Kevin Costner. (On Tuesday, the beloved show was shut out of 2022 Emmy nominations.)
Kilcher broke out with Terrence Malick’s “The New World,” where she portrayed Pocahontas. Her credits also include “Sons of Anarchy,” “The Alienist” and “Dora and the Lost City of Gold.” She most recently appeared in the road trip film “Dog,” starring Channing Tatum.
According to insurance officials, Kilcher was paid $96,838 in temporary total disability benefits between October 2019 and September 2021. The time frame also includes several months when she worked on “Yellowstone” despite Kilcher’s claims that she was too injured to work.
Kilcher reportedly injured her neck in 2018 while filming “Dora and the Lost City of Gold,” where she appeared as Inca princess Kawillaka. The California Department of Insurance said the actor saw a doctor “a few times that year” but stopped treatment and did not respond to the insurance company working with her employer.
In October 2019, Kilcher reached out to the insurance company and requested treatment. She claimed that she passed on work opportunities due to the severity of her neck pain. However, officials said that Kilcher worked on “Yellowstone” from July 2019 to October 2019.
The actor self-surrendered and was arraigned in May, the Department of Insurance said. Los Angeles County Superior Court records show she pleaded not guilty to the charges in June.
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