Thomas Gibson addresses Criminal Minds firing: 'They're trying to erase me from the show'

Thomas Gibson has opened up about the physical altercation that got him fired from CBS's crime series Criminal Minds. Gibson was suspended from the show following allegations the actor physically attacked a producer on the sets of the show.

The actor told People Magazine, "I feel like it took years to make a good reputation and a minute to damage it." According to the veteran actor, tension flared between him and writer-producer Virgil Williams while filming the second episode of season 12 on 26 July.

He said, "We were shooting a scene late one night when I went to Virgil and told him there was a line that I thought contradicted an earlier line. He said, 'Sorry, it's necessary, and I absolutely have to have it.'"

Gibson who plays Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner on the show explained how the physical altercation happened. "He came into that room and started coming towards me. As he brushed past me, my foot came up and tapped him on the leg. If I hadn't moved, he would have run into me. We had some choice words, for which I apologized the next day, and that was it. It was over. We shot the scene, I went home — and I never got to go back."

After an initial two-week suspension, Gibson was "dismissed" from the show but his character Hotch will appear in the first two episodes of season 12. "It seems like they're trying to erase me from the show. That hurts. But I'm using this time to be with my kids, and I look forward to what's next. Maybe I'll do a comedy, or a play, or direct, or produce," the 52-year-old actor told the magazine.

"My pride and reputation are hurt, but in the end I know the good work is what people will remember. I just need more opportunities to do good work and be a good guy." Criminal Minds season 12 premieres 28 September on CBS Network.