Mark Salling will not appear in the upcoming movie “Gods and Secrets,” a new report claims.
The 33-year-old “Glee” actor was indicted on two counts of child pornography charges on Friday and now has lost the coveted villain role in director Adi Shankar’s movie, according to TMZ.
On Tuesday, Shankar sent out a statement confirming Salling has been let go and promising to “personally pay” for reshoots to replace the actor. In addition he said he would donate a percentage of the profits to a charity for abused children. (RELATED: ‘Glee’ Actor Arrested For Possession Of Child Pornography)
“I hope that Mark finds inner peace,” Shankar said in the statement. “Hopefully some good will come of all of this and I pray that when the dust has settled, the hyper-connectivity of the information age that has brought to light the transgressions of several public figures, will also force us to look within our society to identify and eliminate the root cause of the rape culture we exist in.”
“Child abuse is a cultural cancer whose tentacles penetrate far deeper than a single celebrity caught with illicit images on his computer,” he continued.
The director had previously stated he would wait and see “if the charges were true” before deciding what to do about the actor. No word yet on who will replace Salling.
If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.