More than 20 years after his self-titled sitcom went off the air, Martin Lawrence is opening up about what led to the show’s demise. In an interview with GQ magazine, Lawrence reveled that he left Martin after his co-star, Tisha Campbell, accused him of abuse and sexual harassment.
Although Lawrence initially stated, “It was just time to end” the hit Fox series, he addressed Campbell’s past allegations. “None of that was true. It was all a lot of bullshit.”
Campbell abruptly quit Martin in 1997, following a string of incidents involving Lawrence, which included him getting arrested after acting erratically while waving a gun in the middle of an intersection. According to a 1997 People magazine report, producers sued Campbell for quitting the show and she countersued with accusations against Lawrence. The parties reached an out-of-court settlement and Campbell agreed to return to the show on the condition that she be allowed to film scenes separate from Lawrence.
Lawrence and Campbell have since moved on and have a good relationship, but never spoke about Campbell’s claims. “We don’t need to talk about something that just didn’t happen,” said Lawrence. “So I just decided to walk away from the show. I just decided to end it. People said that I got canceled, but that wasn’t the case. I decided to just leave the show.”
“I love Tisha,” he continued. “I’ve seen her then and now, now and then, always with nothing but love. I have nothing but love for her, and I always have.”
