Kevin Costner ‘Read All the Stories’ Spouting Untrue Rumors About ‘Yellowstone’ Exit: ‘I Was Disappointed Nobody’ at the Studios ‘Stepped Up to Defend’ Me

variety.com:

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Kevin Costner continues to double down on his exit from “Yellowstone,” in which he played lead character John Dutton for four and a half seasons.

In a cover story for People magazine, the Oscar-winning actor said he “read all the stories” in the press that perpetuated untrue rumors about his decision to leave the show. “I was disappointed that nobody on [the studio] side… ever stepped up to defend what it was I actually did for them,” Costner said. “There came a moment where I thought, ‘Wow, when is somebody going to say something about what I have done versus what I haven’t done?'” Costner told GQ magazine in May that his choice to leave “Yellowstone,” one of the most popular shows on television, all stemmed from the decision to split the show’s fifth season into two parts.

He said that a date was set for him to resume production on his feature directorial effort “Horizon” and the scripts for the second half of “Yellowstone” Season 5 never even came in before that.

At some point, Costner only had a week left of time to finish his “Yellowstone” duties before jumping back into “Horizon.” He’s “disappointed” no one on the studio side supported him when rumors started flying that Costner would only work for a week. “When it was first pitched to me by [showrunner] Taylor [Sheridan] it was one season and [like] a long movie, which [is] speaking my language. … But ultimately, I think what happened was the studio didn’t want that,” Costner now told People. “And because he’s such a prolific writer, he said, ‘I can do that.