Damon Lindelof ‘Shocked and Appalled’ Over ‘Lost’ Racism and Toxic Workplace Allegations: ‘I Failed’ to Provide Safety and Comfort
variety.comZack Sharf Digital News Director “Lost” showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse confront several accusations of racism, toxicity and more that allegedly occurred during the making of the ABC hit series in Maureen Ryan’s new book, “Burn It Down,” an excerpt of which has been published on Vanity Fair’s website.
In the excerpt, Lindelof admits that he “failed” in regards to providing “safety and comfort” in the show’s writers’ room. Several writers and actors spoke to Ryan about the toxic work environment on “Lost,” which ran for six seasons on ABC from 2004 to 2010.
Harold Perrineau, who starred as Michael Dawson in the first two seasons of “Lost,” spoke bluntly about his white co-stars getting the show’s major storylines.
As he put it, “It became pretty clear that I was the Black guy. Daniel [Dae Kim] was the Asian guy. And then you had Jack and Kate and Sawyer.” A writer on the show said that the “Lost” writing staff was repeatedly told that white characters Locke (Terry O’Quinn), Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) were the “hero characters” and that “nobody cares about these other characters.
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