Regé-Jean Page Allegedly Left ‘Bridgerton’ Over ‘Creative Differences With Shonda Rhimes & Her Team’, Source Claims

Regé-Jean Page Allegedly Left ‘Bridgerton’ Over ‘Creative Differences With Shonda Rhimes & Her Team’, Source Claims

More is coming out about Regé-Jean Page’s shocking exit from Shonda Rhimes’ Bridgerton. 

As previously reported, Regé-Jean Page is leaving the Netflix series after its debut season.

Insiders told The Hollywood Reporter, that he only had a one-season contract with the show. While fans might be surprised that Rege-Jean Page’s Duke Simon Basset won’t be back, this reportedly aligns with what producers and Netflix had in mind all along. Still, THR says he was “offered an opportunity to return as a guest star in three to five episodes of Season 2 — at a rate of $50,000 an episode — but declined for a multitude of reasons.”

One of the alleged reasons was that Simon wouldn’t be a main character in season two.

Still, new reports allege there’s another reason he’s leaving.

An insider told Page Six, 

“Regé is not coming back to ‘Bridgerton’ because of creative differences with [executive producer] Shonda Rhimes and her team.”

They continued,

“He wasn’t happy with what was planned for his character for Season 2, which would have kept him a player but not the focal point of the show.”

They added that,

“Regé has been inundated with offers for other interesting and challenging leading roles.”

They went on to say,

“If you look at all the big names who have left [Rhimes’] ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ in the past, you see you don’t disagree with Shonda, nobody is bigger than the show.”

They said besides the “creative differences,” Page left on good terms.

He spoke on the exit himself with Variety and said he never planned on starring in the show, which was viewed in more than 80 million households, after its first season.

“It’s a one-season arc. It’s going to have a beginning, middle, end—give us a year. [I thought] ‘That’s interesting,’ because then it felt like a limited series. I get to come in, I get to contribute my bit, and then the Bridgerton family rolls on.”

What are your thoughts on Regé-Jean Page and Shonda Rhimes allegedly having “creative differences”? Comment and let us know.