Van Barnes, Jeffrey Tambor’s former assistant who accused the actor of sexual harassment while working on Transparent, has spoken out following his firing from the show. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Barnes, who is trans and started off as a consultant on the show before becoming the actor’s assistant, criticized Tambor’s comments about the “politicized” nature of the investigation into his actions, and said “he has done this to himself.” “I experienced an extremely volatile work environment,” Barnes said of her time as Tambor’s assistant, “which included frequent and persistent sexual harassment, physical harassment, verbal abuse, and abuse of power by Mr. Tambor.”
Amazon fired Tambor on February 15 after an investigation into sexual claims made against him by both Barnes and Transparent actress Trace Lysette. Tambor has called the investigation “deeply flawed,” something Barnes specifically criticized in her new statement. “For Mr. Tambor to now characterize this investigation as ‘biased’ and ‘politicized’ is an insult to the numerous people he has worked with through the years who were forced to participate in an investigation created by his own actions,” Barnes wrote. “Mr. Tambor’s lengthy abuse and harassment of me continues to haunt me and is a clear indication of how we got to this point.”