--- description: Actor Thomas Gibson has been fired from the popular television show Criminal Minds following an altercation earlier in the week. title: Criminal Minds: Thomas Gibson Fired image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e09a6f9e7ea4079/6988a23a428a9e68a6cd3e43/thomas-gibson.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Thomas Gibson Fired From _Criminal Minds_  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 12, 2016 7:14 PM CUT  Thomas Gibson as Aaron Hotchner in Criminal Minds Thomas Gibson as Aaron Hotchner in Criminal MindsCliff Lipson—CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 12, 2016 7:14 PM CUT Actor Thomas Gibson has been [fired](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/08/12/thomas-gibson-fired-criminal-minds "undefined") from the popular television show _Criminal Minds_ following a physical altercation. The producers of the CBS series said Friday that Gibson will not return to the show when it airs its 12th season starting in September, [_Entertainment Weekly_](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/08/12/thomas-gibson-fired-criminal-minds "undefined") reports. “Thomas Gibson has been dismissed from _Criminal Minds_,” ABC Studios and CBS TV Studios, which produce the show, said in a statement. “Creative details for how the character’s exit will be addressed in the show will be announced at a later date.” Earlier this week, Gibson was suspended after kicking a writer during a dispute on the set. Gibson had played Aaron Hotchner on the show since it premiered in 2005. “I love Criminal Minds and have put my heart and soul into it for the last 12 years,” Gibson said in a statement reported by [USA Today](http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2016/08/12/criminal-minds-benches-thomas-gibson-for-2-episodes/88616960/ "undefined"). “I had hoped to see it through to the end, but that won’t be possible now. I would just like to say thank you to the writers, producers, actors, our amazing crew, and, most importantly, the best fans that a show could ever hope to have.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4450808/thomas-gibson-criminal-minds/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4450808/thomas-gibson-criminal-minds/"},"headline":"Thomas Gibson Fired From Criminal Minds","datePublished":"2016-08-12T19:14:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:57:37.404Z","description":"Actor Thomas Gibson has been fired from the popular television show Criminal Minds following an altercation earlier in the week.","url":"https://time.com/4450808/thomas-gibson-criminal-minds/","keywords":["Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e09a6f9e7ea4079/6988a23a428a9e68a6cd3e43/thomas-gibson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e09a6f9e7ea4079/6988a23a428a9e68a6cd3e43/thomas-gibson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Criminal Minds","caption":"LOS ANGELES - FEBRUARY 16: \"Tribute\" -- When former BAU team member and current Interpol agent Emily Prentiss tracks an international serial killer, she enlists the help of her friends at the BAU after she is convinced the UnSub's next victim is on Ameri","creditText":"Cliff Lipson—CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4450808/thomas-gibson-criminal-minds/","name":"Thomas Gibson Fired From Criminal Minds"}}]}] ```