Luke Grimes left True Blood last December abruptly due to the "creative direction" his character James was going, but now rumors are swirling that Grimes might have not wanted to play gay.

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Last year, an HBO rep said, "The role of James is being recast due to the creative direction of the character." While Grimes' rep had no comment at the time, a source told TVLine, "He initially joined the show because he wanted to work with [his Forever co-star] Deborah Ann Woll. But when he started reading the scripts for Season 7, he was disappointed to learn that they were going in a completely different direction with James."

Although James (now played by Nathan Parsons) hasn't actually switched teams, there were insinuations in the June 22 premiere that he was getting very close with Lafayette.

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Buzzfeed reported that a source told the site, "Grimes objected to the first few scripts he received, once it became clear that his character would become romantically involved with Lafayette." Grimes reportedly was fine with Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) being attracted to James, but not if the feeling was mutual. "He also did not want to do any same-sex kissing or sex scenes," the source continued. "The writers were unwilling to change the scripts on his behalf."

Now Grimes' publicist is speaking out for his client, saying the actor's decision to leave the hit show was all about scheduling. "Luke always had an out clause as a means of pursuing other opportunities which arose in the form of features beginning with The Shangri-La Suite, followed by Fifty Shades of Grey, and most recently, Clint Eastwood's American Sniper with Bradley Cooper." HBO hasn't changed their original statement.

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True blood, Hbo, Television