Wendi McLendon-Covey hits back at Jeff Garlin's behaviour blame
Jeff Garlin left their sitcom The Goldbergs in 2021, amid complaints about his off-screen behaviour, but defended himself at the time, insisting he’s “always a kind and thoughtful person”.
A feud between Wendi McLendon-Covey and her former TV husband Jeff Garlin is heating up.
Jeff left their sitcom The Goldbergs in 2021, amid complaints about his off-screen behaviour, but defended himself at the time, insisting he’s “always a kind and thoughtful person”.
Following Jeff’s exit, Wendi told Andy Cohen that she was “exhausted” from the “PTSD of it all”, and called his departure a “long time coming”.
In an interview of his own on the Daily Beast’s Obsessed podcast, Jeff responded to Wendi’s words, and blamed his bipolar disorder, which he says he was only diagnosed with at the end of his time on the sitcom.
He said: “I actually empathise with [Wendi] because, at the time, I was undiagnosed bipolar. I was miserable on the show, and I was miserable with my performance. And she was always trying to tell me, ‘Hey, you’re really great on the show.’ I didn’t believe her. I just got to the point where I had to quit, and she was very resentful.
“Being bipolar, I was either one of three things: dark, dark, dark, dark, didn’t talk and look at anyone; happy to the point of mania, never turning off my thing; or mean — really, really mean.”
The Daily Beast shared a video of the chat on their Instagram page, with Wendi taking to the comments section to weigh in.
She began by writing: “Huh”.
Before following it up with: “Let’s just say I remember things very differently, as does the crew, the other actors, the writers, and our executives.”
The Goldbergs ran for 10 seasons, with Jeff’s character Murray killed off between season 9 and 10.
The finale aired in May 2023.
Wendi wrote on her Instagram page at the time: “I’ve been on an excruciating farewell tour for the Goldbergs, which has afforded me the opportunity to cry in false eyelashes all over Los Angeles.”
She also hit back at criticism of season nine, following Jeff's decision to quit the show.
The 56-year-old actress admitted that the production had been thrown off course by Jeff's sudden exit - but she dismissed calls for the sitcom to be scrapped.
In response to the criticism, Wendi said on X, formerly Twitter: "This season threw us for a loop because a.) it's hard to incorporate someone who doesn't want to be there and wants to leave mid-scene, and b.) we weren't about to re-write the 2nd half of the season. We're doing our best (sic)"
