Emmy-nominated Percy Hynes White was kicked out of Netflix’s hit film on Wednesday, nine months after he was accused of assaulting a woman at a party in Toronto, industry insiders exclusively say at DailyMail.com.
The 22-year-old Canadian actor played Xavier Thorpe in the Addams Family spin-off – a Wednesday School student who can bring art to life.
A source close to his family, who split his time between homes in Toronto and Newfoundland, confirmed the news.
Hynes White was a rising star – with notable appearances on The Twilight Zone and The Gifted – before the allegations surfaced in a now-deleted Tweet posted by an anonymous social media user on January 18.
Percy Hynes White was kicked off the Netflix show on Wednesday six months after an anonymous Tweet accused him of sexual assault. Here he is at the Golden Globes after-party with series star Jenna Ortega.
Hynes White is back home in Canada. His mother Sherry White posted this photo of the two of them hiking in the woods of Newfoundland on August 20.
“My family has been subjected to violence and my friends have received death threats. Underage photos of me were used and examples of me acting in character were presented as hateful,” Hynes White wrote after the allegation was made.
Novelist Joel Tomas Hynes soon came out in favor of his view, saying he had to rethink his belief in the adage that where there is smoke, there is fire.
The poster claimed she was sexually assaulted by the actor at a party he was throwing and accused him of throwing the party in an effort to get the women drunk enough to have sex with him.
“Percy is a wonderful young man, that’s the truth,” a source told DailyMail.com. “He never participated in any of the false allegations against him, which were on Twitter and were never followed up or substantiated.”
“Percy is a respectful, kind and talented actor, a true professional. He is unfailingly polite to everyone, including the team and his fans, most of whom are loyal to him as they should be.
“For Netflix to remove him from the show is a shame. They were just false rumours. It’s just not right.
Netflix says that due to the strikes currently hitting Hollywood, no casting decisions have been made.
Hynes White and his parents, both actors and writers, have strongly denied the allegations, with Hynes White describing them as a “misinformation campaign” in an impassioned Instagram post in June.
He wrote: “Earlier this year, someone I’ve never met started a misinformation campaign about me online.
Wednesday has been nominated for two Emmys and two Golden Globes
“Because of this, my family was subjected to violence and my friends received death threats. Underage photos of me were used and examples of me acting in character were presented as hateful.
“My friend Jane was falsely portrayed as a victim, and her attempts to set the record straight were ignored. She gave me permission to include her in this post.
He continued: “The rumors are false. I can’t accept being portrayed as bigoted or criminally neglecting people’s safety.
“These are the kinds of baseless and damaging allegations that can create distrust in victims. It’s very heartbreaking to know that this misinformation has upset people.
“I am truly grateful to everyone who supported me and helped me share the facts. The harassment of my family, friends and colleagues must stop, please. Thank you for taking the time to read this.’
The double Emmy nominee Wednesday invents a new life for Wednesday Addams. She is expelled from school for putting live piranhas in the pool and is enrolled in Nevermore Academy – a Vermont school for “monstrous outcasts” that her parents Gomez and Morticia both attended.
Hynes White’s character is also a student at Nevermore.
Hynes White’s father, actor and novelist Joel Thomas Hynes, 47, also showed his support for his son and described him as “wrongfully accused”.
Hynes White’s character, Xavier Thorpe, is a classmate of Wednesday Addams at Nevermore Academy, a Vermont school “for monstrous outcasts.”
He posted on Instagram how the allegation that he threw a party to get women so drunk they would have sex with him affected him and his family.
Jenna Ortega gave Hynes White a huge hug when he dropped her off at Toronto airport in January
A few days after the first allegation, Hynes White and her mother stepped out for a benefit party in Los Angeles.
Wednesday has been played by several actresses in various Addams Family shows over the years, including Christina Ricci in the 1990s and the original, Lisa Loring, 30 years earlier.
Hynes wrote, “I used to blindly subscribe to the old adage that where there is smoke there must be fire.
“But if the last few months have shown one thing absolutely clear, it’s that where there’s smoke (even though there’s a lot of it), sometimes it’s all there is: smoke.”
He added: “This anonymous hate online is powerful. But what really empowers these types of campaigns is the culture of fear and silence that prevents ANYONE from speaking out for the wrongly accused – lest the mob turn their eyes on you and yours.
“If publicly offering my support for my kind, sweet and extremely talented son is tantamount to throwing myself to the wolves, so be it no matter what,” Hynes wrote.
“Really, who cares? What is a life for? I’ve been there a long time and plan to stay there for quite a while.
“Malcom X once said, ‘I stand for the truth no matter who says it. I am for justice, no matter who it is for or against.”
“When all this SMOKE clears (and it will eventually have to), I’ll still be here, standing beside my son and holding fast to the one adage worth saving: that truth is perpetually moving toward the light. So come on, let there be light.
The message was reposted by Sherry White, the mother of Hynes-White, 52, herself a writer and producer of blockbuster films.
In March, 20-year-old Jenna Ortega, who plays Wednesday’s title character, also lent her support during an appearance on the Armchair Expert podcast in which she spoke enthusiastically about sharing an apartment with him during filming which took place in Romania.
She said, “Literally, we mothered each other. It’s like when someone was busier, like going through something, we were there.
Although The Gifted actor won’t return on Wednesday, he has other projects in the works, including Winter Spring Summer or Fall – a romantic comedy filmed with Ortega in Utah earlier this year.
“Percy will be fine,” the insider said. “People in the business know his character and his talent. Netflix and Wednesday’s show should be ashamed of it for treating it so unfairly.
