An actress on a hit CBS drama series, who collapsed on the set in August, is claiming that the network has written her off the show because of a medical condition.
Actress Jennifer Esposito says CBS has kept her off "Blue Bloods" since her collapse, and she says CBS alleges her illness was a scheme to get a raise, reports the New York Post’s Page Six.
At the time of the collapse Esposito complained the show’s producers were "working her too hard," the story reports. She has since been out of the lineup of the drama, in which she has been playing Detective Jackie Curatola.
She took to Twitter to air her complaints. "CBS … PUT me on unpaid leave and has blocked me from working anywhere else after my doc said u needed a reduced schedule due to celiac," she wrote. "CBS didn’t listen to my doc and I collapsed on set. Which everyone saw! After a week off my doc said I could return to work but CBS implied that I was NOT truly ill and this was a scheme to get a raise!"
CBS said in a statement that because of her illness, the actress is "unable to perform the demands of her role and we regretfully had to put her character on a leave of absence." Esposito’s final episode is set to air Nov. 2.
Jennifer Esposito
If she has been diagnosed as having Celiac’s then it is not only legitimate but a condition that can be severe enough to kill. My Mother and a number of her brothers have been diagnose with this disease and if you ‘cheat’ on your diet a little, your body will let you know it! All best to Ms. Esposito – she does good work and I hope the CBS execs can pull their heads out of their colons long enough to see that.