'So You Think You Can Dance' adding Leah Remini as Season 17 judge replacing Matthew Morrison

So You Think You Can Dance is adding Leah Remini as a replacement for Matthew Morrison to the judging panel of its upcoming live shows.


Leah, an Emmy Award-winning actress, will be joining the So You Think You Can Dance cast and sitting on the judging panel alongside JoJo Siwa and Stephen "tWitch" Boss beginning next Wednesday, Fox announced Friday.

Leah will be taking Matthew's place as a judge after his sudden and unexpected exit from the show.

"I am thrilled to join So You Think You Can Dance on its milestone 300th episode," Leah, 51, said in a statement.

"I look forward to guiding these incredibly talented artists through this competition as a fan of the show and a great admirer of dancers. I can't wait to see the artistry that the contestants bring to the stage!"


Leah is also a producer, author and activist who is best known for her role on The King of Queens and for her docuseries, Scientology and the Aftermath. She also previously co-hosted The Talk's first season back in 2010.

A source claiming to be close to the Fox reality dancing competition told People late last month that Matthew, 43, was fired from So You Think You Can Dance for having had "an inappropriate relationship with a female contestant."

"They didn't have sex, but he reached out to her through flirty direct messages on social media," the source said.

"She felt uncomfortable with his line of comments and went to producers, who then got Fox involved. He was fired after they did their own investigation."

The source alleged Matthew and the unidentified female contestant "never met up off-set" but his messages definitely "crossed the line."


Once the scandal made headlines over a week into So You Think You Can Dance's Season 17 broadcast schedule, Matthew issued a statement to multiple press outlets about his abrupt departure from the series.

Matthew said he was "leaving" the show, which premiered on May 18, because he "did not follow competition production protocols" during filming.

"Having the opportunity to be a judge on So You Think You Can Dance was an incredible honor for me. Therefore, it is my deepest regret to inform you that I will be leaving the show," Matthew said late last month.

"After filming the audition rounds for the show and completing the selection of the 12 finalists, I did not follow competition production protocols, preventing me from being able to judge the competition fairly."

He added, "I cannot apologize enough to all involved and I will be watching alongside you all on what I know will be one of the best seasons yet."


Representatives for Fox then told Us Weekly that the network "will soon announce a new judge to the series for the next wave of the competition starting on June 15th featuring the Top 12 performing for America's vote."

An insider told the magazine at the time that Matthew was "disappointed" about his early exit from the show but was "happy to have left on good terms."

"He plans to spend time with his family and is excited about what is next," the insider noted.

However, Matthew was far from happy about claims regarding his alleged behavioral misconduct on the set.

Matthew took to Instagram on June 2 to share his side of the story, firmly denying that he had behaved inappropriately and in a way that would have made a female contestant feel "uncomfortable," according to the People source.


The Tony Award-nominated Broadway star and former Glee star claimed he had only sent the female dancer a single message intended to help get her a job as a choreographer on the show.

Matthew captioned a video, "Just to clarify," and began, "It's really unfortunate that I have to sit here and defend myself and my family against blatantly untrue statements made anonymously, but I have nothing to hide."

"So, in the interest of transparency, I will read to you the one message I wrote to a dancer on the show."

Matthew alleged that the message read: "Hey, it's Matthew. If you don't mind, would love to get your number and talk you through some things."

"The end," he continued. "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."


Matthew's video did not offer any explanation for why his message told the dancer he would like to "talk you through some things" instead of clearly stating he was trying to help her get a job as a choreographer.

Nor did he offer any acknowledgement that "love to get your number" is also a common pickup line that could have easily been misconstrued by the female dancer and others.

Matthew -- a husband and father of two toddler children, son Revel James and daughter Phoenix Monroe -- said in his Instagram post that the allegations against him are "devastating."

"It's devastating that we live in this world where gossip rules and people's lives are being thrown around as clickbait," Matthew complained.

"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."

Matthew said "in no way" does he want this scandal "to take away from the show."


"Because dance has always been a unifying and healing modality, and I genuinely wish all of the contestants and my fellow judges all the best," Matthew concluded.

The actor's wife Renee Puente, 37, reposted Matthew's video to her Instagram account and shared her response to the controversy in the caption.

"It's been a wild ride... 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," Renee wrote.

"Gossip and cruelty are poison that have penetrated the depths of our society and somehow have made people forget their true nature -- Love & compassion."

Renee went on to share quotes about how "negativity is a trait, not someone's identity" and how "letting go gives us freedom."

"Perspective my people. Stop perpetuating hate and shame. NO ONE DESERVES IT... To all those who have shined love and light in our lives through this, thank you... To all the rest -- sending Love & Light," Renee said in conclusion.


Matthew had joined So You Think You Can Dance as a member of a new panel of judges for Season 17.

Both Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy were replaced by Matthew, pop star and former Dancing with the Stars contestant JoJo, and former SYTYCD All-Star tWitch.

Former judges of So You Think You Can Dance include Adam Shankman, Vanessa Hudgens, Maddie Ziegler, Jason Derulo, and Paula Abdul.

Cat Deeley is once again hosting So You Think You Can Dance for its currently-airing seventeenth season.







About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski