Matthew Morrison was fired as a judge from So You Think You Can Dance after reportedly sending one of the contestants flirty messages. SYTYCD season 17 premiered in mid-May and has aired two audition episodes so far. Matthew was announced as a judge for this season in a complete overhaul of the panel alongside new judges Stephen “tWitch” Boss and JoJo Siwa. The popular dance competition returns to FOX after spending two years on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week, Matthew announced that he was leaving the judging panel after the singer and actor put out a statement saying that he broke “competition production protocol” that prevented him from being able to judge the show “fairly.” No further details were given other than that statement from Matthew. FOX announced that they would be replacing Matthew, though the new judge has not yet been revealed. Given that the show has already filmed multiple episodes, he will still appear on the show for the next few weeks before the replacement takes his spot.
More details have come out about what led to Matthew’s departure from So You Think You Can Dance. According to a report from People, Matthew sent flirty messages to an unnamed female contestant on the show via social media. While Matthew and the dancer never had a relationship or interacted off-set, the messages “crossed the line” and made her uncomfortable. The dancer went to the producers of SYTYCD, causing FOX to launch an official investigation, which prompted the network to let Matthew go from the program.
SYTYCD has already filmed episodes up until the reveal of the Top 12 dancers. According to Matthew’s statement, the incident occurred “after filming the audition rounds for the show and completing the selection of the 12 finalists.” Matthew will not be a part of the next round of the SYTYCD competition, in which America gets to vote each week. That phase of the competition begins on June 15. It is unknown who the dancer was or if she was one of the 12 finalists selected, but either way, Matthew is done with So You Think You Can Dance.
This development is frustrating and shocking for members of the SYTYCD family and fans of the show. There was so much buzz and excitement surrounding the new judging panel of tWitch, JoJo and Matthew, and that is now diminished because of this scandal. Luckily for the dancer involved, she will not have to endure being uncomfortable interacting with Matthew every week. As So You Think You Can Dance moves on from this incident, the show gears up for more talent to showcase as they look forward to finding America’s Favorite Dancer.
So You Think You Can Dance airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EDT on FOX.
