Kevin Costner’s reaction to John Dutton’s death

Kevin Costner was quick to break his silence on John Dutton’s death at the premiere of Yellowstone season five, part two.

The day after the episode aired, Costner continued The Michael Smerconish Program on SiriusXM, where he told Smerconish he hadn’t seen the episode – but he didn’t intend to. “I’ll be completely honest. I didn’t know it actually aired last night,” Costner said. “It’s an oath-to-God moment. I swear to God. I mean, I’ve seen ads with my face all over the place and I’m like, ‘Gee, I’m not in it.’ I’m not in this season.”

Costner continued, “I didn’t see it. I heard it was a suicide, so that doesn’t make me rush to see it.” When Smerconish says that John Dutton doesn’t strike him as a man who would die by suicide, Costner says, “Well, they’re pretty smart people. Maybe that’s a red herring. Who knows? They’re very good. And they” will find out.” Of course, as the episode reveals, John Dutton’s death is not a suicide, but rather a hit taken out by Sarah (Dawn Olivieri).

Elsewhere in the interview, Costner reiterated what he’s said in the past about why he didn’t return for the second half of season five. “There were contractual things that would allow both things to be done,” he said, referring to his film series, Horizonand Yellowstone, “but because both things were contractual, you had to make room for the other. There was room, but it was hard for them to stick to their schedule. It seemed like it was just too hard for them to do it .”

He added: “I didn’t leave. I didn’t quit,” explaining “I had 300 people waiting for me, I couldn’t help them anymore. I just couldn’t help them. But I didn’t quit. the show… everybody has to live up to what they say they’re going to do, and it doesn’t matter what industry you’re in.”

Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals and a variety of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish cultural website. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.