UPDATED:
Andrea Bordeaux clarified on her Instagram page that she did not decide to leave the show nor did Lionsgate try to work with her, but rather she was fired.
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Andrea Bordeaux has decided to not return to Starz’s hit series Run The World for its second season due to Lionsgate’s COVID mandate.
According to Deadline, Bordeaux who is a series lead has exited the series due to Lionsgate’s Covid protocols on the show that require casts as well as crews working in Zone A on their productions to be fully vaccinated.
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The Covid safety protocols agreed upon by the Hollywood studios and unions give producers “the option to implement mandatory vaccination policies for casts and crew in Zone A (which includes the actors and those who directly interact with them) on a production-by-production basis”.
Lionsgate Television and Bordeaux tried to come to a manageable term but ultimately, the two sides could not find a workable solution, and Bordeaux opted to leave the series.
Created, written and executive produced by Leigh Davenport, Run the World centers on four thirty-something, loyal best friends – who live, work and play in Harlem as they strive for world domination. At its core, it’s an unapologetically female show about enviable friendship and not only surviving – but thriving together.
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Bordeaux, who co-led the series alongside fellow Amber Stevens West, Bresha Webb and Corbin Reid, starred as Ella McFair, a writer in her early 30s adjusting to her new job at the website Hot Tea Digest, in the wake of an unsuccessful debut book release.
Moving forward role will not be recast and Deadline reports it is unclear whether the series will introduce a new character to fill the void left by her departure as one of Run the World‘s four leads.
Stephen Bishop, Tosin Morohunfolam Erika Alexander, Nick Sagar, Jay Walker and Tonya Pinkins also starred in the series.
The upcoming second season of Run the World, which films in New York, has a new showrunner, Rachelle Williams who executive produces alongside Davenport as well as Season 1 showrunner Yvette Lee Bowser.
Bordeaux, has yet to comment and is expected to publicly address her decision in a statement at her own time.