This has not been a good month for The 100showrunner Jason Rothenberg. In the wake of the Lexa death backlash, actor Ricky Whittle is speaking up about how Rothenberg allegedly bullied him into leaving the show. Whittle’s character, Lincoln, who has been on the show since the first season, was killed off in the March 31st episode, after which Whittle told AfterBuzz TV in a lengthy interview: Whatever is happening in what is probably a complicated behind the scenes situation, it’s true that Lincoln’s story has been less than meaty this season (though, to be fair, this entire season has been a narative mess). Though Lincoln has never been one of the show’s top priorities, he has been an evolving, fascinating character who managed to get some great development over the course of the first two seasons. Heading into season 3, he was poised as a character who, in many ways, served as a counter to protagonist Clarke. While Lincoln was a Grounder who chose to assimilate into Sky People culture, Clarke was a Sky Teen who chose to assimilate into Grounder culture. Then, Lincoln spent much of the season cooling his heels in the Arkadia jail before being unceremoniously executed in the latest episode. Rothenberg released a short statement in response to Whittle’s interview, saying: “Ricky Whittle is a talented actor; I appreciate his work on The 100 and wish him all the best moving forward on American Gods.” (Whittle has been cast as the lead, Shadow, in the Bryan Fuller/Michael Green adaptation of Neil Gaimen’s American Gods,slated to premiere on Starz in late 2016.)
