In January 1997, Tisha Campbell left “Martin” and accused Martin Lawrence of sexual harassment. People reported that the show’s producers sued her to coerce her to return to set, but she filed a countersuit, claiming that Lawrence subjected her to “repeated and escalating sexual harassment, sexual battery, verbal abuse and related threats.” The lawsuit was settled outside of court, and Campbell returned to the show under one stipulation: Under no circumstances would she film any scene with Lawrence in the same room.
Months later, the series announced that it was wrapping up after five seasons. Fans speculated that the show’s seemingly abrupt ending was due to Campbell and Lawrence’s falling out, but the “Bad Boys” star said that wasn’t the case. In a statement to Variety, he acknowledged it was time to move away from the small screen and “concentrate all my efforts on my film career.”
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Lawrence touched on the subject again in an interview with GQ in 2020, clarifying that the show was never canceled. He said that “Martin” ended at the right time. “Well, how can I say this? It just was time to end. Let’s just put it that way,” he divulged. When asked about Campbell’s lawsuit, he straight up denied it. “None of that was true. It was all a lot of bulls**t… I just decided to walk away from the show. I just decided to end it. People said that I got canceled, but that wasn’t the case. I decided to just leave the show.”
