On Tuesday, March 22, Shemar Moore announced that after 11 successful seasons on “Criminal Minds,” he has made the decision to walk away from the CBS drama that made him a household name.
“To my homies, to my fans, to my baby girls: Cry if you have to, scream and yell if you have to, smile, smile, laugh, celebrate,” Moore said of his exit in the video clip shared on CBS website on Wednesday, March 23. “This is not goodbye; this is goodbye to this part of a dream, this chapter. I’m not going anywhere. You guys haven’t gone anywhere. Without you, my dream is not possible. I can dream all day everyday, but I can’ t make it work unless you support me, unless you root for me, unless you watch me and you believe in me.”
Now, the actor has revealed what led up to the shocking decision. “I can answer that in two ways. There was no plan until the beginning of season 11. For a couple years, there was a feeling. And I had the same feeling when I was on ‘The Young and the Restless.’ I say this a lot: I treat my acting career like school. ‘The Young and the Restless’ was high school. I knew I needed to evolve and graduate. And then ‘Criminal Minds’ has been college. And I just feel that I needed to evolve and graduate,” he told E! News.
“So now I’m going to go to grad school or whatever you want to call it. I’d been talking to [showrunner] Erica Messer and some of the executives and producers and let them know that I’m just starting to feel this itch. I’d seen other actors out there in the business getting these opportunities that I would love a chance. What I’m fighting for in my life, and more specifically in my career, is that shot. I’m very happy with what I’ve accomplished, but I want to take another step. I’m just hungry like that. I want to see what else I can do,” he said.
Meanwhile, fans are still torn over Moore’s somewhat abrupt departure. “Nooooooooo u gotta stay,” wrote one user via social media.
“He was great. He will be missed,” wrote another.
Although there’s no word what’s next for Moore (aside from finding love and family) we couldn’t imagine this show moving forward without at least a few future cameos with Derek Morgan [Moore]. Do you think the actor will return? Sound off in the comment section below.
