‘Nashville’ Fans Hit Back At Connie Britton After It’s Confirmed She Quit
Nashville fans are hitting back at Connie Britton after it was confirmed last week that Britton opted to quit the show after five seasons and was not pushed out by producers.
After fans of the CMT show saw Rayna Jaymes’ shocking death play out on the drama last month, viewers questioned why Rayna’s heart-breaking death had to happen and following the bombshell confirmation that the decision to go was very much Connie’s, fans are making it known that they’re not too happy with Britton amid the quitting revelation.
Connie took to Twitter last week to promote her walk-in to the United Nations during a peaceful protest, after which one fan hit back at the now former Nashville star, “Who cares. How long will it be until you quit this too! You let Nashville down!”
Other “angry” fans continued to hit back on the actress on the social media site after it was confirmed amid much speculation that Britton decided to leave the show, leaving producers no choice but to kill off fan favorite character Rayna after five seasons.
“Watching #NashvilleCMT makes me really angry at Connie Britton. Should have recast her,” @OdieLisa hit back of Connie’s decision to quit Nashville after five seasons and just months after it was announced that CMT had picked up the show following ABC’s cancelation.
“You should have saved forever instead of ripping out hearts out with Raynas death! So angry #saveforever #ConnieBritton,” @fwitzie added after it was confirmed that Britton had quit Nashville.
The latest round of backlash from Nashville fans comes after The Tennessean confirmed last week that it was very much Britton’s decision to leave the popular CMT show after five years, claiming Connie decided it was time to go because she wanted to “pursue other opportunities.”
Nashville fans initially hit back at Connie Britton in the wake of the February 23 episode of the drama, which showed Jaymes shocking die following a car crash, as the site reported that viewers reacted with serious resistance by suggesting that Connie was being ungrateful by leaving so soon after viewers campaigned to have Nashville brought back to TV following its cancelation last year.
“Those strong feelings were in evidence on social media in the hours after Rayna’s on-screen death,” the site reported of the serious backlash Britton faced from Nashville’s dedicated fans in the wake of Rayna’s death. “A sense of betrayal ran through many of the top-voted Facebook comments – particularly from fans who’d rallied to save the show and move after its former network ABC pulled the plug last year.”
But as viewers slammed Britton amid the quitting revelation, Nashville is now preparing to move forward without Connie.
Though Nashville fans still aren’t happy about Britton’s decision to quit, E! News reported last week that Connie would be replaced by two actresses when the series returns in the summer.
Former Hart of Dixie and The OC actress Rachel Bilson was announced as the newest Nashville cast member following Connie’s departure, while former Empire actress Kaitlyn Doubleday will also be heading to the country music drama in the wake of Britton’s leaving when the country music drama returns to TV later this year.
Nashville’s executive producer and showrunner Marshall Herskovitz announced the big news in a statement issued to the site, revealing last week, just two weeks after viewers saw Rayna’s death play out, that the cast and crew “welcome Rachel and Kaitlin into our incredibly talented ensemble.”
“We fondly anticipate the second half of the season filled with surprising twists and turns that make Nashville so beloved by the fans,” Marshall continued of what’s ahead for Nashville following the news that Connie opted to quit the show after five seasons.
What do you think of the latest backlash from Nashville fans to surround the news that Connie Britton decided to quit the show after five years?
[Featured Image by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)]
