What Happened to Bishop on The Rookie? Why did She Leave?

Who is Bishop on The Rookie?

Afton Williamson portrays Los Angeles Police Department officer Talia Bishop in Season 1 of ABC’s crime drama The Rookie. American actress Afton Williamson was born on September 7, 1984. The principal character of Police Officer Talia Bishop in the ABC television series The Rookie and the part of Deputy District Attorney Alison Medding in the Cinemax original series Banshee are her most well-known roles. Williamson graduated with a Master of Fine Arts from the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Eastern Michigan University.

What Happened to Bishop on The Rookie? 

Talia Bishop worked as a training officer with the Mid-Wilshire Division of the LAPD. Bishop, who was raised in the foster care system and overcame a difficult upbringing, was determined not to wallow in self-pity and to pursue a successful profession. For the first season, she was directly involved with John Nolan, and despite their frequent disagreements, Nolan valued Bishop’s stance and guidance.

Williamson resigned from the program in 2019 after making accusations of racial discrimination, sexual harassment, and assault. Williamson, who played Talia Bishop, wasn’t going to come back for the second season, according to TVLine. Williamson claimed in a lengthy Instagram post that she had quit the series because she had “had racial discrimination/racially charged improper comments from the hair department,” despite the outlet’s initial claim that the separation was amicable.

Why did Talia Bishop leave The Rookie?

The actor claimed that she had experienced racial discrimination, bullying, sexual harassment, and assault and that The Rookie’s Bishop role had been eliminated. Williamson also claimed that Sallie Ciganovich, the head of the hair department, had bullied her at a party and turned it into a sexual assault. She also claimed that Demetrius Grosse, a guest star who plays Kevin Wolfe on the show, had harassed her sexually. Williamson asserted that after making repeated requests to the showrunners, she received no response.

In her Instagram post, Talia Bishop stated “I owe it to you my amazing fans to share the Truth. Throughout the filming of the pilot, I experienced Racial Discrimination/Racially Charged inappropriate comments from the hair department and bullying from Executive Producers. During the Season, it continued along with Sexual Harassment from a recurring guest star, and the racist commentary & bullying from the Hair Dept. escalated into a sexual assault at our wrap party.”

What Happened to Officer Bishop in The Rookie?

Williamson wrote in the post that she reported the harassment to the show’s creator, Alexi Hawley, but that her complaint was “not filed to HR as promised” and that it remained unreported. Williamson also claimed that Sallie Ciganovich, the head of the hair department, had bullied her at a party and turned it into a sexual assault. She also claimed that Demetrius Grosse, a guest star who plays Kevin Wolfe on the show, had harassed her sexually. Williamson asserted that after making repeated requests to the showrunners, she received no response.

The charges were refuted by all those involved. The law firm Mitchell Sillerberg and Knupp hired EXTTI, a third-party company, to conduct an investigation. EXTTI looked at the video and other types of evidence and performed approximately 400 hours of interviews. On September 17, 2019, the investigation’s findings—which indicated that Williamson’s accusations lacked merit and could not be proven—were made public. Williamson maintained her assertions, describing the investigation’s findings as “heartbreaking,” and asserted that the filmmakers had misled to conceal the reality of what had transpired.