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Calling ALL Gladiators!
For the very first time in ten years actor Columbus Short has reunited with some of the cast of Shonda Rhimes fan favorite series Scandal.
While appearing on fellow ‘Scandal’ veterans Guillermo Diaz and Katie Lowes podcast Unpacking The Toolbox, Columbus opened up about how his personal life ultimately led to his untimely exit from the series.
In case you’re unfamiliar Columbus’ character Harrison Wright was written off the show after their third season due to rumors of drug and alcohol usage including domestic violence allegations.
“I was faulty as a human.”
Columbus recalled how him being late took a toll on the production team and resulted in his character’s storyline being minimized. He also revealed that fellow co-star Darby Stanchfield who played the role of Abby Whelan filed a complaint against him.
“You were pissed that you would go to table reads and there wouldn’t be a real Harrison juicy storyline,” said Katie. “And she would say, ‘You’re not ready to do it.’”
The 41-year-old expressed that he now understands his mistakes and how learning from his poor decisions ultimately made him the man he is today.
“If I could have did it again, oh man, I would have did it different. But everything that I went through, everything that I did, all the mistakes, has led me to the man that I am today,” said Columbus.
“And I’m proud of the man I am today.”
Columbus also shared that Shonda had offered him a leading role on Grey’s Anatomy spin-off ‘Private Practice’. However he says that he turned down the role as he had other plans for his career.
“Shonda had, a couple of years before, had offered ‘Private Practice.’ And I was like, I do not want to do television, I want to be a movie star. I’m on a movie star track.”
“But I said, you know what, there’s a guy named Taye Diggs who would be appropriate. That’s my guy, he’s down for the job and I wasn’t,” said Columbus.
Columbus also connected with the series creator’s production team with Shondaland for an interview. Cousins be sure to check it out below.
MALCOLM VENABLE: I want to start by saying I really admire your willingness to talk about this; I know people can be really judgmental and harsh, and I can’t even imagine what it’s like to have that going on while you’re in the public eye. With that said, how did the offer to do the Unpacking the Toolbox interview come about in the first place?
COLUMBUS SHORT: Guillermo had mentioned it in the first season, and then I guess it didn’t work out or something. And then, somebody reached out to my wife from Shondaland. They asked if I’d be willing to come in person, and I said yeah because I miss Katie. I miss Guillermo. It was a great little reunion.
MV: Was it an immediate yes, or did you have to think about it?
CS: Immediate yes.
MV: In listening to the episode, it seemed like you’d long been wanting to talk to people and make amends. Is that accurate?
CS: Yeah. Because it was just a weird time. The love between all of us and the cast, and our creative [team], and producers Shonda, Betsy — my fumble, it really, really, really hurt the team. It really hurt me too. It was such a mess. My life was already kind of becoming a distraction during production. I had no idea when I got that show that it was gonna be as huge as it was.
MV: You were, like, what? Twenty-something?
CS: Twenty-eight. Before I got the show, my marriage was a mess. It was just a whole bunch of drama. And so, I got the show. And I think when you get a show like that, or any major, high-pressure job, if your house is not in order, it’s impossible to have that balance. If you have turmoil at home, but then you’re spending a majority of the time with your classmates in a fast-paced show, you’re highly visible — all that happening at the same time. I turned to alcohol. I was doing coke and all that. I was high-functioning, so I would come to work, but as the show got bigger, the cracks started to show until it became unhidable. [The team] gave me a lot of chances. They protect their own. And at the end of season three, an incident happened. We were done with the season, and they left it as a cliff-hanger, like, “Let’s see what happens with Columbus over this hiatus.” And one of the things that was said to me was “Look, Columbus, we have your back, just no more headlines.” So, I decided to grab my life by the horns. I had just moved in to a new house, and I basically said, “I want a divorce,” and I kicked her out. A couple of days later, these claims on TMZ happened … a headline with aggressive claims. When I got the call from Shonda and [network execs], they were like, “We’re gonna have to stop here.” I was kind of expecting it. I think the TMZ story dropped on, like, a Thursday or Friday. I was like, “I’m fired. I’m done.” And that Monday morning, I got the call. I was in my house just waiting for that phone to ring. And it rang that Monday.
MV: How on Earth did you get through the shame, regret, embarrassment — that swirl of emotions? I think that would have taken anybody out just having to carry all that.
CS: The one thing that I was ashamed of, which is why I didn’t defend myself, was how I was treating myself. Drinking, using [drugs]. I didn’t feel like I had enough strength to fight. Because now if somebody did that, it would immediately be lawyers, defamation. … I would have just got ahead of it. I just laid down and let it happen. And the more I laid down, the more dark I got. It was just a dark cloud. I’m resilient, but it did hurt. I carry that more, the shame of letting my team down. I thought about it every single day. It made me sick. I couldn’t even watch the show. After I was gone, I couldn’t even watch it. It took a long time and a lot of therapy just to get back to [square] one. And then once I was back to one, it’s like, “Okay, now what? How are we going to do this?” And so, you know, it’s been a journey. I’m still on it.
MV: Is all this still difficult for you to talk about?
CS: Nah. I’ve talked it out a thousand times. It’s all been unpacked, bruh [laughs].
MV: Twitter played such a huge role in Scandal’s success, and yet people on there can be brutal, especially with famous people — one day you’re their hero, and the next you’re public enemy number one. I’m curious how dealing with public perception affected you, and specifically social media. Did you look at it as all this was going on? Did you avoid it? How did you deal with all that?
CS: That’s interesting. Back in the day, Kate Beckinsale told me one time — I had a movie coming out, and I was nervous — and she was like “Well, don’t read anything.” And I’m like, “What? I want to read and see the reviews.” And she said, “If you read the positive reviews, you’ve got to read the negative reviews too.” And that always stuck with me. So, as I was reading those, I saw people praying for me, and equally there were people that just took the headlines as facts. My emotions started to calcify, where it was, like, hardened. It wasn’t until I got with my wife that they started to soften. Because I am a loving person. And I lost that. I lost that person for a minute.
MV: Wow. I don’t know how I would have survived any of this. What has all this taught you about compassion and forgiveness, being nonjudgmental, all that type of stuff?
CS: You know what? That’s crazy — me and my wife were just talking about this. You’ll see a headline on Instagram, or TMZwill report something, and I always take a beat, several beats, before I make an assessment of what I think about it. With a headline, you don’t know what’s going on. You don’t know what happened. I can’t make an assessment, and why should I make an assessment? This is what my therapist told me a few years ago, and it really hit home. The people that are commenting, what if we turn the camera around on them and go into their lives so the world can see exactly how they live, what their drama is? I’m sure they will be a lot more compassionate. So, you know, compassion, non-judgment, forgiveness — and forgiving myself — have been major.
MV: From what I heard in the interview, you said everyone at Shondaland supported you, and it seems like they tried to do everything they could to help. What are your feelings in general about the Shondaland family, and Shonda specifically?
CS: My feelings are like, “I let down a woman that I care about and love very much.” And I know she only wanted me to get right. Forget movies, TV, any of that: She’s always just wanted me to get right. And like a psychic, she kind of called what the end was going to look like if I didn’t make some changes. She did everything she could. And sometimes, you gotta let people go and figure it out on their own. But I never stopped loving her. [Producers] Betsy Beers, Merri Howard … I’m waiting for the day I get to have the [make amends] conversation with Kerry [Washington], with Tony [Goldwyn]. I’ve had the conversation with Jeff [Perry]. I’ve had the conversation with Katie and Guillermo. Shonda, one of the days, I’m gonna get to make those amends.
MV: What do you want people to take away from this after hearing this episode of Unpacking the Toolbox?
CS: To hear friends, colleagues, family really unpack some things, the good times and the rough. Katie and Guillermo always kept a beat on me. I missed them so much. I hope people can see the love was genuine, hear some good stories, and hear the truth and what was really going on back then.
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