After weeks of staying silent about his Chicago PD departure, LaRoyce Hawkins is finally addressing the news.
Just ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, news broke that Hawkins would be exiting Chicago PD after 13 seasons as a series regular on the show. The news shocked fans, as there had been no indication he would be leaving the show. In fact, the show had seemed to make his future seem more certain than ever as season 13 came to an end.
Early in the season, Atwater reconnected with his old police academy friend, Tasha Fox, and their romantic night together resulted in an unplanned pregnancy. For a while, it looked as though the storyline was one introduced as a potential exit storyline for Hawkins, with fans suspecting that he would end the season by deciding to leave Chicago to move to Miami to raise the baby with Tasha.
Instead, the season ended with Tasha making the decision to move back to Chicago so that she and Atwater could get to know one another better and make a real run at their relationship as they prepare to become first-time parents. With the final episodes of the season seemingly positioning Atwater for a new chapter rather than a farewell, Hawkins' exit came as a major surprise.
Fans have spent the last several weeks trying to process the news and what might have been the driving force behind his exit, which one co-star seemed to hint was due to creative decisions rather than a desire from Hawkins to leave the show. While Hawkins’ co-stars have addressed his forthcoming exit, he’s avoided commenting on the news in any manner, but that has finally changed.
With production on season 14 officially underway, Hawkins returned to set to begin filming his final episodes as Atwater. At first, it looked like Hawkins might continue to avoid addressing the elephant in the room as he took to Instagram Stories to simply share photos from the set taken with fans between takes and to share photos from his co-stars. However, on July 31, he finally broke his silence by sharing a photo with co-star Marina Squerciati from the set.
“Tell the HellCat I’m gonna miss her the most. #BurgWater x BPWRFL. 10•07•26,” Hawkins wrote as he shared a photo taken with Squerciati before filming began.
While Hawkins avoided fully addressing his departure from the show in a statement reflecting on his time with the series and discussing his final episodes, it was the first time he publicly acknowledged his forthcoming departure. And it seems only fitting that his silence be broken by sending love to Squerciati, who was the first to address his forthcoming departure by sending love to her longtime scene partner via a sweet Instagram tribute.
It’s clear by the brief nature of Hawkins’ statement that he’s still processing his exit and isn’t quite ready to address the end of his time on Chicago PD. We’re sure he’ll address his departure and his time on the show when the time is right.
For now, at least, the silence has been broken, and Hawkins has finally acknowledged the elephant in the room, even if his statement might not have been what fans were hoping for.
Add us as a preferred source on Google