Matthew Morrison is speaking out following news of his exit from So You Think You Can Dance.
One day after a source told PEOPLE that Morrison, 43, was fired from the series for sending a female contestant “flirty” messages that made her “uncomfortable,” the actor is setting the record straight about his alleged actions.
“It’s really unfortunate that I have to sit here and defend myself and my family against blatantly untrue statements made anonymously, but I have nothing to hide,” he began in the video posted to Instagram on Thursday.
“So, in the interest of transparency, I will read to you the one message I wrote to a dancer on the show.”
Matthew Morrison said his message allegedly read: “Hey, it’s Matthew. If you don’t mind, would love to get your number and talk you through some things.”
“The end,” he continued. “I sent this because this dancer and I both share a mutual respect for a choreographer that I’ve known for over 20 years and I was trying to help her get a job as a choreographer on the show.”
“It’s devastating that we live in this world where gossip rules and people’s lives are being thrown around as clickbait,” he noted.
“I think this is much bigger than me and this story. Gossip is toxic and it is destroying our society, and we need to do better.”
Concluding his video, Matthew Morrison said he “in no way” wanted this “to take away from the show” and wished the contestants and his fellow judges “all the best.”
The actor’s wife Renee Puente shared her husband’s video to her Instagram Story and wrote a response of her own in a second slide. “It’s been a wild ride… My husband has finally been given an opportunity to speak his truth. He has done so with such grace and integrity in a situation that is complex and incredibly complicated,” she wrote.