"Mom is here": Leah Lewis breaks silence after Matlock co-star David Del Rio is fired for alleged sexual assault

Leah Lewis is finally breaking her silence after David Del Rio, her Matlock co-star, was fired from the show due to allegations of sexual assault. Lewis initially spoke out about the alleged abuse towards the end of September (reportedly on 26 September), and as per Deadline reports, Del Rio was removed from the set a handful of days later, once an official report was filed on October 2.

This was reinforced by a TMZ report that stated that Del Rio was “escorted off the Paramount lot last week as soon as the allegations were reported.” It was later confirmed on October 9 that Del Rio had been mandated to depart the series by CBS.

In the wake of all that has happened, Leah Lewis took to her Instagram Stories to share her feelings on the situation. She posted a picture of herself and her mother along with the following message,

“Mom is here, we're moving forward in love and strength. I'm in good hands. Thank you to everybody for any kind of support and care. Truly, we're moving forward in strength. Key word, strength. Please, let that be the takeaway.”

The latest version of Matlock is a re-imagined take on a familiar character-driven legal series. It also features a gender swap of the series' main character as compared to the original iteration from the 1980s.

In addition to Lewis, the cast of the series includes Jason Ritter, Kathy Bates, and Skye P. Marshall.

More information regarding the alleged assault and Matlock Season 2

As soon as the matter was reported by Leah Lewis, the network and the series' producers responded. The alleged attack is said to have taken place in her trailer on the Paramount lot, and as per Deadline, executive producer Eric Christian Olsen was even among the group to escort Del Rio off set, the day it was reported (October 2).

According to PEOPLE, the Matlock reboot is scheduled for a pre-planned break, which the creative team will use to re-formulate the show now that Del Rio’s core character has been let go.

Del Rio and Leah Lewis were frequent scene partners, playing a pair of lawyers who support Kathy Bates’ titular Madeline "Matty" Matlock. The show's second season is scheduled for an October 12 debut on CBS and Paramount+.

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