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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Connie Rusk

Inside Matthew Morrison's SYTUCD 'drama' as he is 'fired for flirty texts to contestant'

Matthew Morrison's sudden exit from So You Think You Can Dance was reportedly due to him sending inappropriate flirty texts messages to a contestant.

The actor, 43, was announced as a judge for the seventeenth season of So You Think You Can Dance, along with JoJo Siwa, 19, and Stephen "tWitch" Boss, 39, on April 4.

However, on May 27, Matthew announced his departure from his brief stint on the panel, telling fans his exit was because he had failed to follow "competition production protocols."

Here Mirror Online takes a closer look at what could have prompted his sudden exit.

After announcing he would be joining the show back in April, Matthew, who is best known for playing Will Schuester on Glee, said he thought he could "bring a fresh look" to the new series.

Matthew Morrison announced his sudden exit from So You Think You Can Dance (Getty Images)
The actor, 43, is best known for his role in Glee (FOX Image Collection via Getty Images)

He told Broadway World : "Before you would watch a concert, like a Justin Timberlake show or something, you'd see a bunch of dancers in the background and you'd never really connect with them, but I feel like this is a great way, the best show to connect with the dancer and actually to get them to know them on a personal level.

"So I think it's just such a beautiful show."

He added: "I'm here to encourage them to find that out of their own, I don't feel like I'm a judge. I don't really like that term to be honest. I want to them to think of me as a teammate."

Matthew, who is married to Renee Puente, said his role as a judge was to "help them see their potential and their greatness".

Jojo Siwa is a judge on the panel (NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
Stephen Boss also formed the judging panel (Photo Image Press/REX/Shutterstock)

Matthew has two children son Revel James Makai, four, and 11-month-old daughter Phoenix Monroe.

But just a month after his announcement, Matthew announced his departure.

He said in a statement: "Having the opportunity to be a judge on So You Think You Can Dance was an incredible honour for me.

"Therefore, it is my deepest regret to inform you that I will be leaving the show."

He continued: "After filming the audition rounds for the show and completing the selection of the 12 finalists, I did not follow competition production protocols, preventing me from being able to judge the competition fairly.

Matthew is married to Renee Puente (pictured together in 2019) (SplashNews.com)

"I cannot apologize enough to all involved and I will be watching alongside you all on what I know will be one of the best seasons yet."

But a source has now claimed he was sacked due to inappropriate texts.

The insider told PEOPLE the star "had an inappropriate relationship with a female contestant".

They said: "They didn't have sex, but he reached out to her through flirty direct messages on social media.

"She felt uncomfortable with his line of comments and went to producers, who then got Fox involved. He was fired after they did their own investigation."

The Mirror has contacted Matthew's representatives for comment.

In 2019, Matthew was a judge on the Greatest Dancer (BBC/Thames/David Ellis/Matt Burlem)

The source added that the pair never met up off-set, but his messages had "crossed the line".

It's thought he'll still appear in the upcoming episodes of the show as they were already pre-recorded.

Reports suggest his replacement will first be seen on the show when the next stage of filming gets underway.

It comes after JoJo took to Twitter on Tuesday to slam a user for their comment saying they were hopeful it was her leaving the show when the news broke.

The user wrote: "Dammit. I saw the headline ‘Judge Leaves #sytycd’ and got all excited. Yes! @itsjojosiwa was out! But, nope. It was Matthew Morrison."

Retweeting the message, she asked: "literally why tweet this?" before explaining why she was well qualified for the role.

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