Vincent Kartheiser Was Investigated Over Misconduct Allegations On The Set Of HBO Max’s “Titans”
The name Vincent Kartheiser, who played Pete Campbell in Mad Men, was in many headlines yesterday, and surprisingly it wasn’t because he let us know that like those other celebrity Pig Pens, a bar of soap barely ever touches his skin. I don’t think Vincent has to tell us that, though. Vincent’s name made the rounds because Deadline reported that he was the subject of multiple misconduct investigations after he allegedly behaved like a throbbing asshole on the Toronto set of HBO Max’s Titans. One of those investigations led to the studio assigning a “representative” to look after him while he was on set. So they pretty much needed to get Vincent a babysitter thanks to him being a real-life Pete Campbell. Can you imagine the conversation the “representative” had with their loved one before leaving for the first day of their new job? “Bye, honey, I’m off to my new babysitting gig.” “Awww, that’s cute, how old is the child?” “It’s Pete Campbell.” “May GOD be with you.”
HBO Max’s Titans is sadly not a reboot of the Aaron Spelling flop masterpiece, Titans, which starred Yasmine Bleeth and Victoria Principal. HBO Max’s Titans TV show follows a group of young DC superheroes. Vincent joined the cast for season 3 as the villain Scarecrow. The third season premiered this week and Vincent was not part of its promo tour. That probably had to do with several of his co-workers alleging that working with him was about as pleasant as taking a piss in his backyard in 2010 since he didn’t have a toilet then. There are not many details, but sources tell Deadline that the complaints against Pete were about “disruptive, juvenile behavior and inappropriate comments.” The investigation was done by Warner Bros. TV’s Labor Relations Department. It was done remotely since investigators couldn’t travel from Burbank, where WBTV is based, to the set in Toronto.
The first investigation was launched after someone complained about Vincent’s alleged on-set hissy fits. That investigation led to the studio giving him a talking to. That conversation didn’t penetrate Vincent’s brain, obviously, because another complaint was made against him. That’s when the studio gave Vincent, a 42-year-old grown man, an on-set babysitter.
According to sources, the first investigation into a complaint, said to be about verbal comments and outbursts, concluded that Kartheiser’s behavior didn’t rise to level of termination but did warrant corrective action. The actor was verbally reprimanded by the studio, I hear.
Weeks later, near the end of Season 3 production, WBTV received a second complaint that also was investigated. This time, it resulted in the studio assigning a representative to monitor Kartheiser while he was on set, sources said.
Deadline’s sources add that other complaints were made against Vincent and those complaints were investigated but not corroborated.
A rep for Vincent, who has been married to Alexis Bledel since 2014, responded to the allegations by spitting out a contradictory stream of HUH?!. His rep denies the allegations but then says that he agreed to follow their rules of behavior after getting scolded by mom and dad (read: Warner Bros.).
“Vincent Kartheiser vehemently denies the allegations. Warner Bros investigated this matter and made clear to Mr. Kartheiser its expectations for behavior on the set, and he agreed to comply with their directives.”
It’s relevant to mention that when Vanity Fair visited the set of Mad Men in 2009, they witnessed Vincent annoyingly busting out some method actor fuckery.
On set, before takes, he squats off to the side and loudly runs through vocal exercises. Between shots, he pinwheels around the set, teasing the crew and other actors or loudly psyching himself up for the next shot. It’s a funny kind of psyching up. “What’s wrong with me! Fuck life in the ass,” he shouts after one take. “I’m off today—I know it! I know it! Don’t bullshit me,” he yells after another. “I wish I could be anyone on earth but me!” As a colleague says, “It’s kind of unusual, but it works for him. It’s what Vincent needs to do to lose his self-consciousness.”
So basically, it sounds like Vinnie is trying to outdo Jared Leto as the biggest pain-in-the-ass method “artiste” who gets on everyone’s last nerves and causes eyeballs to roll out of heads while playing a DC villain. But really, Vinnie, all of this for a TV show that many didn’t know existed until right now?! Vincent Kartheiser being Wish.com’s answer to Jared Leto is more tragic than his shaved hairline.
The next time Vincent acts a mess on set, someone needs to take him aside and use a quote from Pete Cambell by letting him know that the way he’s behaving is: NOT GREAT, BOB VIN!
Pic: Wenn.com