Brian Henson said that actor Steve Whitmire made “outrageous demands” and would often “play brinkmanship.”
Brian Henson, the chairman of the Jim Henson Company and son of the late legendary Muppets creator, didn’t want to get into a war of words with longtime Kermit the Frog actor Steve Whitmire, who was fired after 27 years.
“I really don’t want to be talking about this, and I think it is very sad that this has become an issue,” Henson said.But, after Whitmire’s firing became public and the actor told The Hollywood Reporter that he was replaced for reasons that include being “‘disrespectful’ in being outspoken on character issues,” Henson granted an in-depth interview of his own in order to explain what actually happened from his perspective, even going as far to say that he should’ve let Whitmire go before selling the company to Disney in 2004.
“I have to say, in hindsight, I feel pretty guilty that I burdened Disney by not having recast Kermit at that point because I knew that it was going to be a real problem,” Henson told THR. “And I have always offered that if they wanted to recast Kermit, I was all for it, and I would absolutely help. I am very glad we have done this now. I think the character is better served to remove this destructive energy around it.”
In an interview on Monday, Whitmire said he was fired over character notes he gave during the short-lived ABC Muppets reboot and for a union issue. “I have been outspoken about what’s best for the Muppets since the Muppets came to Disney, but the fact is I have respect for everyone who was involved in the creation of that series for their own particular contributions,” Whitmire said.
Disney and The Muppets Studio responded that the decision was not spur of the moment, was based on numerous reasons and that the actor’s conduct had been unacceptable for a long period of time.The conflict between the studio and the puppeteer may have been simmering for years, but it hadn’t always been that way. It was Brian Henson, along with his late mother, Jane, who picked Whitmire to take over as Kermit following his father’s untimely death in 1990.
“Nobody worked harder than me on making sure Kermit survived my…
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