Jeff Garlin, 64, is speaking out about his controversial exit from his sitcom The Goldbergs.
Garlin left the long-running ABC series in 2021 following a series of human resources investigations into his behavior on set. After he departed the show, his co-star Wendi McLendon-Covey, 56, told Bravo’s Andy Cohen the departure was “a long time coming” and that she was “exhausted” from the “PTSD of it all.”
“I actually empathize with her because, at the time, I was undiagnosed bipolar,” the Curb Your Enthusiasm star told Obsessed: The Podcast. “I was miserable on the show, and I was miserable with my performance. And she was always trying to tell me, ‘Hey, you’re really great on the show.’ I didn’t believe her. I just got to the point where I had to quit, and she was very resentful.”
Bridesmaids star McLendon-Covey played Beverly Goldberg, wife of Garlin’s Murray Goldberg, on The Goldbergs, which ran for 10 seasons, from 2013 to 2023. Garlin left in 2021 after reaching a mutual agreement with Sony Pictures Television to exit.
Garlin was accused of sending an inappropriate text to a colleague suggesting they attend a table read in scant clothing, hugging and touching people on set in ways that made them uncomfortable, and repeatedly making jokes about female body parts. The actor defended himself against these complaints and denied sending the offending text message. He also said he knows he could “be a lot,” especially with his untreated bipolar disorder, which was not diagnosed until he was 59.
“When I left, she was very resentful and angry at me,” Garlin added of McLendon-Covey. “And if she wanted to continue the resentment, that’s her. I don’t have resentment towards her, even saying things about me. I actually love her. And I appreciate that she’s one of the greatest actors I’ve ever worked with. That will not be lost on me.”
When the Daily Beast posted a segment of the interview with Garlin on Instagram, McLendon-Covey responded to his claims in the comments section.
“Huh,” she wrote in one comment. She then added, “Let’s just say I remember things very differently, as does the crew, the other actors, the writers, and our executives.”
Comedian Drew Droege, 49, also slammed Garlin in the comments. Droege appeared in a Season 9 episode of The Goldbergs, and has collaborated with McLendon-Covey on various projects.
“Wendi is one of the best people I’ve ever known,” Droege wrote. “He is one of the vilest people I’ve ever worked with. I did an ep of this show and the entire cast/crew was traumatized by him.”
Garlin published a book of photographs from throughout his career called Best Seat in the House: Moments No One Asked Me to Capture... But I Did Anyway on Sept. 15. It features photographs and anecdotes from his many Hollywood projects, and includes a striking photograph of McLendon-Covey on the set of The Goldbergs.
Garlin said that he chose to publish the picture despite his fractured relationship with McLendon-Covey because it was “one of the most beautiful photographs I’ve ever taken.”
“And that was not intentional,” he added. “The background was sort of blurry, and it’s just her beautiful face. So I’m not gonna let resentment and negativity stop me from sharing that with the world.”
Since leaving The Goldbergs, Garlin has spoken out against cancel culture and dismissed concerns over his “extremely verbally and emotionally abusive”—as one Goldbergs employee put it—as misconstrued “silliness.”
“I was publicly flogged. And that is not an enjoyable experience,” Garlin said in the new interview. “I’m at a point where for the most part, I don’t give a s--t what anyone thinks about me. It’s a drag that anyone would think poorly of me because ‘I hear bad things about him,’ blah, blah, blah, blah, but I don’t give a s--t anymore. I only give a s--t because it creates trauma for me from that time—but that doesn’t knock me off my feet like it used to.”
“I’m just living my life,” he added, “and if you don’t like it, go f--- yourself.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to McLendon-Covey for comment.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch new episodes of ‘Obsessed: The Podcast’ every Wednesday and Friday. And follow our feed to listen to the show the next morning on your favorite podcast platform.
