The Chi has been one of Showtime’s best series since season 1 aired in 2018. Fans have become invested in the lives of the well-written characters in the Southside of Chicago. Now that we know there’s going to be a season 7 of The Chi, we’re curious what characters are going to stay put and who’s going to leave. We already lost Kevin Williams (Alex R. Hibbert), and we’re still thinking about Brandon Johnson (Jason Mitchell), who was a main character in seasons 1 and 2.
Before Brandon left The Chi, he saw success with a taco truck called Coogie’s Taco Truck. This was a tribute to his brother Coogie (Jahking Guillory) was tragically shot. But why was Brandon written off The Chi?
How did Brandon’s character leave The Chi?
In the season 3 premiere of The Chi called “Foe ‘Nem,” viewers learned that Brandon died. The episode featured a moving speech by Brandon’s mother Laverne (Sonja Sohn) who grieved the loss of both of her children and said, “This city took ’em from me. So I’m always gonna be broken. And there ain’t nothin’ that’s ever gonna make me whole again.”
This was an absolutely devastating moment that is still memorable today. However, no details were shared about Brandon’s death. While it’s easy to understand that viewers were frustrated by this lack of information, the focus was on Laverne mourning her family. This felt like the right move at the time since The Chi has always been about the strong relationships between the characters living in the same area in Chicago. The Chi treats difficult subjects with a lot of care, and that includes the awful reality that Laverne had to say goodbye to her two sons.
In season 4 of The Chi, Laverne shoots the Chicago mayor Douda Perry (Curtiss Cook), who then spills a huge secret: He played a significant role in Brandon’s death. Douda made this decision because Brandon spoke to the feds about him being in charge of the 63rd Street Mob. Brandon learned about what Douda was doing after Douda gave him money for his taco truck, which was upsetting since he was trying to start a business.
Cook told TVLine that he thought the storyline was unexpected and said Laverine was “getting revenge on one of the people responsible for a lot of the death of those young Black boys in Chicago, Mayor Douda, because he runs that organization.”
The allegations against The Chi actor Jason Mitchell, explained
Before season 3 of The Chi premiered, viewers knew Brandon would die. This isn’t always the case as character deaths are often unpredictable moments (and more often than not, massive cliffhangers that fans get a bit annoyed by). According to The Wrap, Gary Levine, the co-president of entertainment at Showtime, said at the 2019 press tour for the Television Critics Association, “There is a lot of great life in The Chi and there’s also death in The Chi and that’s how we’ll be dealing with it.”
Brandon died on The Chi because of alleged misconduct by the actor, Jason Mitchell. As Sportskeeda explained, viewers weren’t thrilled with how Brandon left the Showtime drama. It makes sense that people wished they got a better explanation of Brandon’s exit sooner. Since viewers didn’t see Brandon die, that felt unsatisfying.
In May 2019, Deadline reported that Mitchell was written out of The Chi and would no longer star in the Netflix movie Desperados. He was also let go from Authentic Talent & Literary Management, his management company, and his agency UTA.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tiffany Boone and a few other stars spoke out against Mitchell’s behavior. Boone said her partner, Marque Richardson, was there when she acted with Mitchell because she was uncomfortable, and she alleged sexual harassment. Since Boone portrayed Brandon’s partner Jerrika, the two actors were in many scenes together.
Later in 2019, Jason Mitchell was interviewed on The Breakfast Club, he said he was let go from The Chi after Disney purchased Showtime and realized he was no longer a cast member in Desperados. He also said, “It’s crazy because there was actually no situation with Tiffany Boone… She was put in a position because this lady Ayanna Floyd Davis made a statement for Tiffany Boone and I guess she had some things to say about Desperados … she was the only person who ever made a statement at all.” Mitchell also said he “unintentionally sort of intimidated” Davis, but claimed she employed the MeToo Movement as an “ugly weapon.”
While The Chi fans enjoyed Brandon’s storyline of opening a food truck, the allegations against Jason Mitchell are too terrible to ignore. Writing Brandon out of the show was the right decision.