Former “So You Think You Can Dance” celebrity judge Matthew Morrison is denying allegations that he was in an inappropriate relationship with one of the show’s contestants.
In a video released on Instagram, Morrison said, “It’s really sad that I have to sit here and defend myself and my family against blatantly untrue stories from an anonymous source.”
Morrison is accused of sending an inappropriate message to an unnamed female contestant.
Morrison was fired from the dance show after allegedly sending “flirty” messages that made a contestant “uncomfortable,” according to People. The magazine said someone close to the show claimed Morrison had “an inappropriate relationship with a female contestant.” According to that source, Morrison never met with the woman outside of the set and their contact was through direct messages on the social media platform, People reported.
While responding to the allegations he faces, Morrison read what he said he sent to the contestant, saying, “I have nothing to hide.”
“So, in the interest of transparency, I will read to you the one message that I wrote to a dancer on the show: ‘Hey, it’s Matthew. If you don’t mind, would love to get your number and talk you through some things.’ The end,” Morrison said. “I sent this because this dancer and I both share a mutual respect for a choreographer that I’ve known for over 20 years, and I was trying to help her get a job as a choreographer on the show.”
Morrison said he is a victim of cancel culture, and that he hopes this doesn’t take away from the show.
“It’s devastating that we live in this world where gossip rules and people’s lives are being thrown around as clickbait,” he said. “I think this is much bigger than me and this story. Gossip is toxic, and it is destroying our society, and we need to do better. And in no way do I want this to take away from the show, because dance has always been a unifying and healing modality, and I genuinely wish all the contestants and my fellow judges all the best.”
But Daniel Karaty, a former judge on the show, told Inside Edition that Morrison had no business sending a message to a contestant, which was sent shortly after midnight.
Morrison’s wife, Renee Puente, shared his video and voiced support for her husband.
“It’s been a wild ride,” she wrote. “My husband has finally been given an opportunity to speak his truth. He has done so with such grace and integrity in a situation that is complex and incredibly complicated.”
She slammed “gossip and cruelty” and noted people should “stop perpetuating hate and shame. Period. No one deserves it.”
She thanked her and her husband’s supporters, “who have shined love and light in our lives through this.”
Morrison and Puente have been married since 2014.