Thomas Gibson doesn’t sound like a man who is very sorry for his actions.
In mid-August, Gibson was fired from his long-time lead role on Criminal Minds.
He was dismissed from the CBS drama mere days after he was suspended for an on-set altercation with a writer and producer named Virgil Williams.
According to various sources, Gibson was directing a Criminal Minds episode written by Williams when the two disagreed on a certain scene.
Gibson allegedly confronted Williams… words were exchanged… and then Gibson turned the incident violent, kicking Williams in the leg.
He was suspended for two weeks for his actions, but then CBS took the next step of firing him entirely just days after the suspension news went public.
In response to his firing, Gibson issued a basic statement that read at the time as follows:
“I love Criminal Minds and have put my heart and soul into it for the last 12 years. I had hoped to see it through to the end, but that won’t be possible now.
"I would just like to say thank you to the writers, producers, actors, our amazing crew, and, most importantly, the best fans that a show could ever hope to have.”
Pretty basic.
Now, however, Gibson has opened up to People Magazine about what actually went down between him and Williams.
"We were shooting a scene late one night when I went to Virgil and told him there was a line that I thought contradicted an earlier line," explains Gibson.
"He said, ‘Sorry, it’s necessary, and I absolutely have to have it.’"
Irritated, Gibson goes on to say he was sharing his frustration with some co-workers when Williams entered the room.
"He came into that room and started coming towards me. As he brushed past me, my foot came up and tapped him on the leg," Gibson says.
"If I hadn’t moved, he would have run into me. We had some choice words, for which I apologized the next day, and that was it. It was over. We shot the scene, I went home – and I never got to go back."
Look, we weren’t there.
We obviously don’t know what transpired.
But Gibson is claiming his "foot came up and tapped" Williams? That sounds like someone desperately trying to downplay an incident.
Looking ahead, Gibson will appear on the first two episodes of Criminal Minds Season 12 (filmed prior to this confrontation) and then be written out of the series.
"It seems like they’re trying to erase me from the show. That hurts. But I’m using this time to be with my kids, and I look forward to what’s next," says the father of three.
"Maybe I’ll do a comedy, or a play, or direct, or produce."
Gibson concludes that his “pride and reputation are hurt,” for sure. But he’s looking for further opportunities to “do good work and be a good guy."
"I feel like it took years to make a good reputation and a minute to damage it," he laments.
You can watch Criminal Minds online or on television when Season 12 kicks off on CBS at 10/9c on September 28.