That didn’t take very long at all. A representative for Kiefer Sutherland and an unnamed person at Fox have already reportedly spoken up to call bullsh*t on Freddie Prinze Jr.’s claim about the 24 star. According to TMZ, “sources” originally claimed that Prinze was “being groomed” to become the star of the franchise once Sutherland’s Jack Bauer rode off into the sunset, but the experience was so awful for the star of Summer Catch that he chose to leave it all behind. But now both Sutherland’s rep and an unnamed Fox official are telling a similar story of their own.
Keifer’s rep tells TMZ, “Kiefer worked with Freddie Prinze, Jr. more than 5 years ago, and this is the first he has heard of Freddie’s grievances.” The rep adds, “Kiefer enjoyed working with Freddie and wishes him the best.”
A Fox official tells TMZ … Kiefer was “nothing but professional during the run of the show and is beloved by cast and crew.” The honcho adds, “It’s so out of left field, 5 years later.”
The official goes on, “We wouldn’t have done another ’24’ if Kiefer were anything like Freddie described.” (Via TMZ)
There’s really no point for Prinze to be telling this story now unless he suddenly thinks that there’s a spot for him in whatever is coming next for 24, but telling tales of Sutherland’s unprofessional drunkenness wouldn’t exactly be the best way to get back on to the Fox studio lot. If anything, maybe Prinze is gearing up for his own rival special agent series on another network, in which he’ll play Jake Bowser, a wanted ex-CIA agent who looks really awkward when he throws a baseball.
Seriously, Summer Catch was the worst. Sutherland should publicly agree with me just to keep this feud brewing.
