The controversy surrounding Orlando Jones' departure from American Gods continues, with Starz president and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch weighing in on the Jones' comments and allegations.

Hirsch spoke at the Television Critics Association, where he said that Jones was removed from the show because his character is not in the section of author Neil Gaiman's book that serves as the series' source material. He also repeatedly highlighted the show's diverse cast.

RELATED: Orlando Jones Claims American Gods Made Deliberately Racist Story Choices

Hirsch's comments come after Jones revealed his firing in December, detailing a dispute over the show's depiction of his character, Mr. Nancy. The actor has since said that he's considering legal action over the firing, which he contends was fueled by racism. Fremantle, the company behind the show, has since claimed "Mr. Jones' option was not picked up because Mr. Nancy, among other characters, is not featured in the portion of the book we are focusing on within Season 3."

Since Jones' firing, Mousa Kraish, who played Jinn on the show, has revealed he was not asked to return for American Gods Season 3.

Based on the Neil Gaiman novel of the same name, American Gods stars Ricky Whittle, Emily Browning, Pablo Schreiber, Crispin Glover, Bruce Langley, Yetide Badaki, Ian McShane, Mousa Kraish, Kahyun Kim, Demore Barnes, and Chris Obi. Season 3 began filming on Oct. 9 and will premiere sometime this year.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter.)

KEEP READING: American Gods: Orlando Jones Had to Fight to Get Paid For Writing Work