According to actor Leonard Roberts, there were certainly a few villains on NBC’s set Heroes. On Wednesdays, the actor wrote an essay for it Variety Describing his experiences on the set of the early sci-fi series, describing a toxic, racist work environment and tension with his on-screen love interest Ali Larter, claiming that she treated their white co-stars differently than she treated him. “I wondered why my co-star had lavishly played another scene with the Petrelli character with overt sexuality wearing lingerie, but found aspects of a scene related to love and intimacy expressed through dialogue with my character, her man, with respect to her core, ”wrote Roberts. “I wondered if race was a factor.” Outside of Larter, Roberts claimed that the series had no black writers on the show, that there was a publicity shoot where the black actors were treated poorly, and that he was initially offered a guest rate rather than as a regular series. But in the end, Larter was the reason he left the show after the first season, as Roberts claims it was written off the show at the end of the season because of the “Ali Larter situation”.
Larter has apologized and directly addresses Roberts’s allegations in the following statement to TVLine:
“I am deeply saddened to hear about Leonard Roberts’ experience on Heroes and I am deeply saddened to read his perception of our relationship, which is absolutely inconsistent with my memory nor experience on the show. I respect Leonard as an artist and I applaud him or anyone else using their voice and platform. I am truly sorry for every part I played in his painful experience during that time and I wish him and his family all the best. “
Larter did not respond to Variety’s request for comment. Variety confirmed Roberts account with multiple people, and Heroes creator Tim Kring released a statement acknowledging the lack of diversity and sensitivity behind the camera Now, 14 years later, I look back, given the very different lens with which I view the world Today, I recognize that a lack of diversity at higher levels of the workforce may have contributed to Leonard experiencing the lack of sensitivity he describes, ”Kring wrote. “I have worked to improve this issue with every project I pursue. I fondly remember Leonard and wish him the best. One thing seems especially clear: Queen Bey knew.