Booking Agent Defends Sylvester Stallone Over ‘Tulsa King’ Set Allegations

A booking manager is defending Sylvester Stallone after he and an unnamed director were accused of allegedly insulting background actors on the set of Tulsa King.

“I’ve heard so much from different people about their time on set,” Tasha Walker-Carroll of The Walker Talent Management Group – whose talent Lisa Hopkins was on set of the Paramount+ series on Tuesday, April 4 – exclusively tells Us Weekly. “At no time on set was my talent made to feel belittled and she did not hear any profanity from any main cast or crew. She was treated very well by the crew.”

Walker-Carroll’s defense of Stallone, 77, comes after an Atlanta-based casting company parted ways with the series after the Rocky star and a director allegedly called some background actors “ugly,” “tub of lard” and “fat guy with cane.” One actor claimed that the latter of the three insults “hurt his soul.”

It was also alleged that Stallone asked production to bring in “pretty young girls to be around me” on set. (Us Weekly previously reached out to Stallone’s team for comment.)

The allegations originated in a private Facebook group called “Backgrounders – stories from set,” according to a report from Deadline. (A screenshot of the Tulsa King accusations has since been posted on X and has over 36,000 views).

While speaking to TMZ on Tuesday, April 9, Tulsa King executive producer and director Craig Zisk denied Stallone said the insults. He also claimed that the actor never said anything about wanting attractive young women on set, adding that Stallone’s wife, Jennifer Flavin, was present at the time.

Zisk further alleged to the outlet that the casting company was improperly casting extras (casting actors older than the age range requested) and refused to submit headshots of background actors before shooting. Zisk says the casting company quit.

The Catrett-Locke Casting company shared that they parted ways with Tulsa King in a statement posted via their Facebook page on Sunday, April 7.

“We wanted to send you an update on the happenings here in our casting world. We have chosen to part ways with Tulsa King,” the post read. “We will be finishing up next week and the 12th will be our last day. We send well wishes to whomever takes over the show. We thank all of you great background artists for your continued support.”

After news of the allegations made headlines, the actor’s union SAG-AFTRA seemingly addressed the claims in a Wednesday, April 10, statement.

“There is no room on any set for disparaging comments to background actors or any performers,” a union spokesperson said via The Hollywood Reporter. “Though we have not been contacted directly about the incident on the set of Tulsa King in Atlanta, SAG-AFTRA is committed to the safety and well-being of cast members on all productions.”

Production for season 2 of Tulsa King began earlier this month. In the series, which premiered on Paramount+ in November 2022, Stallone stars as Dwight “The General” Manfredi, a mobster released from prison and exiled to Oklahoma by the boss of his crime family. Garrett Hedlund, Andrea Savage, Domenick Lombardozzi and Vincent Piazza also star.

With reporting by Sarah Jones