Alexis Bledel Has Left “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Saying That She Felt She Had To “Step Away”

Yesterday, I posted about how Matthew Morrison was forced to leap out of So You Think You Can Dance? after he broke production protocols, which he says fucked with his ability to “judge the competition fairly.” Well, today I’m posting about how Alexis Bledel has left Hulu’s award-winning torture porn The Handmaid’s Tale, which is in the middle of filming season 5. Like Matthew Morrison, Alexis’ exit is sudden, but unlike Matthew Morrison, it sounds like she wasn’t pushed out the exit door. Alexis seems as done with Handmaid’s Tale as people working on HBO’s Titans were done with her husband Vincent Kartheiser’s insufferable method fuckery.

Alexis Bledel has played Dr. Emily (Handmaid names: Ofglen, Ofsteven, Ofroy, and Ofjoseph) on Handmaid’s Tale since season one. Alexis’ performance has gotten her four Emmy nominations, and she won in 2017. Season 5, which picks up right where season 4 left off, reportedly started filming in February. During the season 4 finale (SPOILER ALERT) Emily helps June and other former Handmaids and Marthas get revenge on Fred Waterford. It’s not known if Alexis shot any scenes for season 5, which comes out later this year, but it is known that she’s said “under his eye” to the show and has left after “much thought.”

Alexis Bledel will not return for “The Handmaid’s Tale” Season 5, Variety has learned exclusively.

Bledel, who has played the key character of Emily/Ofglen on the Hulu drama since its first season debuted in 2017, said in a statement Friday: “After much thought, I felt I had to step away from ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ at this time. I am forever grateful to Bruce Miller for writing such truthful and resonant scenes for Emily, and to Hulu, MGM, the cast and crew for their support.”

As to why Alexis is suddenly done with Handmaid’s Tale, maybe she went through the scripts for season 5 and thought to herself, “This one focuses on June being June, and this one focuses on June being June too, and what do you know, this one focuses on June being June too. NEXT!” Or maybe she decided that there was no point in making a show about a dystopian nightmare because if people want to see that, they can just turn on the news.

Pic: MGM Television