 EXCLUSIVE: Facing two accusations of sexual harassment by members of the Transparent team that he has strongly denied, Jeffrey Tambor today has decided not to return to the Amazon series. “For the past four years, I’ve had the huge privilege — and huge responsibility – of playing Maura Pfefferman, a transgender woman, in a show that I know has had an enormous, positive impact on a community that has been too long dismissed and misunderstood. “What has become clear over the past weeks, however, is that this is no longer the job I signed up for four years ago.” 
 
 “I’ve already made clear my deep regret if any action of mine was ever misinterpreted by anyone as being aggressive, but the idea that I would deliberately harass anyone is simply and utterly untrue,” Tambor said. “Given the politicized atmosphere that seems to have afflicted our set, I don’t see how I can return to ‘Transparent.’” 
 
 Tambor was accused of sexual harassment by his former personal assistant, a trans woman named Van Barnes, in a private Facebook post on Nov. 8, causing Amazon to open an investigation into the allegations. Neither Amazon nor Soloway could be reached by Deadline for a response to Tambor’s announcement. In clear reference to Tambor, Lysette recommended that Amazon and Soloway “remove the problem and let the show go on.” 
 
 Saying he was “deeply sorry if any action of mine was ever misinterpreted by anyone as being sexually aggressive,” Tambor also responded to the claims: “I know I haven’t always been the easiest person to work with. I can be volatile and ill-tempered, and too often I express my opinions harshly and without tact. But I have never been a predator – ever.” 
 
 Less than a day after those claims by Lysette, Transparent writer and producer Our Lady J became the first and only member of the series to publicly back both accusers.
– Jeffrey Tambor is continuing to deny accusations of sexual harassment—but he says he won't be back for another season of Transparent. The 73-year-old starred in four seasons of the Amazon web series as a retired professor undergoing gender transition. "Playing Maura Pfefferman on Transparent has been one of the greatest privileges and creative experiences of my life," Tambor tells Deadline. "What has become clear over the past weeks, however, is that this is no longer the job I signed up for four years ago." Last week, transgender actress Trace Lysette became the second person to accuse Tambor of harassment. "I've already made clear my deep regret if any action of mine was ever misinterpreted by anyone as being aggressive, but the idea that I would deliberately harass anyone is simply and utterly untrue," Tambor says. But "given the politicized atmosphere that seems to have afflicted our set, I don't see how I can return." Variety reports that even before Tambor announced his departure, writers were working on ways to continue the series for a fifth season without his character. Lysette, a regular guest star on the show, suggested the move last week, saying producers should "remove the problem and let the show go on."