Kevin Costner Breaks Silence On ‘Yellowstone’ Drama: “It Wasn’t Truthful”

Photo by Stewart Cook/Getty Images for Warner Bros

Kevin Costner has stepped forward to address the ongoing speculation surrounding his departure from the hit Paramount series “Yellowstone.”

In an exclusive interview with Deadline, the actor who played John Dutton in the series candidly shared his perspective on the alleged on-set tensions between himself and the show’s head writer and creator, Taylor Sheridan.

Rumors circulating suggested that Costner’s commitments to his “Horizon” films and potential disagreements over salary had interfered with the production schedule of “Yellowstone,” ultimately causing Costner to quit the show. However, he wasted no time in setting the record straight.

“I haven’t felt good about it the last year, what with the way they’ve talked about it. It wasn’t truthful. So now I’m talking about a little bit about what the real truth of it was,” Coster said.

“I don’t want to get down in the gutter with the “Yellowstone” thing, but what I’m telling you is straight up. I have taken a beating from those f**king guys, and I know a lot of times where it’s coming from,” he continued. “I just elected not to get into that. But if you know me well enough, I made “Yellowstone” the first priority, and to insinuate anything else would be wrong.”

Costner continued to clarify that he didn’t prioritize filming his project “Horizon” over “Yellowstone.” Debunking the rumor as “not truthful,” Costner said he received conflicting information regarding the production schedule for “Yellowstone,” which ended up affecting his schedule for “Horizon.”

“You’ve been reading one version [of what happened] for a year and a half,” he said.

“I left my movie to be on time for them for [season] 5B. I left exactly when they wanted, and it made it hard on me. It turns out they didn’t have the scripts for 5B,” he revealed. “They needed four more days just to complete the first eight episodes. I left early to give them what they needed to have a complete eight, and I felt bad that the audience didn’t get 10. They didn’t have the scripts for anything else.”

Needing to return to his own production after “Yellowstone” was put on an unexpected pause due to there not being a finished script, Costner mentioned that he was open to granting the “Yellowstone” team an extra week to either write off his character or provide John Dutton with a fulfilling conclusion. However, he said that this offer was misinterpreted, with the narrative twisted to imply that he only desired to work for a single week.

“Do you think that’s who I am? I’ve never missed a day of work,” Costner continued. “I’ve never left before fulfilling my contractual obligations. A lot of times, I stay as much as I can.”

“It all happened because they shut down one whole season, didn’t tell anybody and I didn’t work for 14 months,” he added.

While Costner claims that the truth about his departure from the show has been misconstrued, he does express openness to returning if the script meets his expectations.

“I took a beating over these guys not speaking up for me and allowing crazy stories to come out,” Costner said. “I’m not happy about that. But if the writing is there, I will be there too.”