Jasmine Davis Announced Her Exit From ‘The Chi’ via Social Media – Why Did She Leave?

Showtime’s TV drama The Chi has had several actors and their characters come and go throughout its five seasons. In 2019, Jason Mitchell got fired after his co-star Tiffany Boone accused him of misconduct. His character, Brandon Johnson, was later killed off in the Season 3 premiere. Tiffany also departed as Jerrika the same year and moved on to other projects.

Actress Jasmine Davis is the latest The Chi star to exit the Southside Chicago-set series. See why she’s no longer a part of the show and what it means for her character, Imani.

Jasmine announced her departure from The Chi via Twitter. In a post, she stated that there were rumblings about her possibly leaving the series after Season 4. Shortly before The Chi’s Season 5 trailer aired, Jasmine confirmed the speculation she wouldn’t be in any more episodes.

“Due to the many inquiries, I’m officially announcing I will not be part in Season 5 of @SHOTheChi, and I will no longer be part of #thechi/#disneyproduction,” she tweeted. “Sending a BIG THANKS to all my family and supporters/fans who have embraced me with <3 along this journey.”

Jasmine became a recurring guest star for The Chi in Season 3 as Imani, an openly transgender woman who moved to Chicago with her boyfriend, Trig (Luke James), to raise his brother, Jake (Michael Epps). According to TVLine, her tweet implied that the decision to leave stemmed from The Chi’s production company, 20th Century, joining DisneyTV.

Disney received backlash for having a seemingly quiet stance against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signing the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” in March 2022. The law bans teachers from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity in public school classrooms. Jasmine, though, took to Twitter again to say the exit was “due 2 my personal unhappiness” and told her fans to stay tuned for more information.

Since Jasmine’s exit as Imani, some The Chi fans might be wondering if her scene partner, Luke, will also leave the show. According to The Chi’s Season 5 trailer, his character, Trig, plays a significant role in the new season. Amid the ongoing crime rates and violence in Southside Chicago, Trig considers running for political office in the clip. The trailer also shows him working closely with Douda (Curtiss Cook), a known criminal-turned-politician.

Although Jasmine already announced she wouldn’t be on The Chi, Luke’s character seemingly still has someone special in his life. Trig beams at an event in the trailer while holding a ring in his hand and getting down on one knee.

Like Jasmine, Luke joined The Chi in Season 3, replacing Barton Fitzpatrick’s character, Reggie, as Jake’s primary caregiver. When Barton left the show, rumors swirled that it was due to the show bringing on a trans actress as his love interest. However, the actor has denied the claims. Nonetheless, Luke accepted the role and explained the importance of Trig and Imani’s love story being told on network TV.

“I think that we somehow separate – or people try to separate themselves from the LGBTQ community as if these people don’t feel, don’t have the same feelings and wants, don’t have the same goals and the desires of love and freedom just as we all do,” he told Shadow and Act in 2020.

Luke added, “And, we’ve made it some type of taboo thing where people feel the need to hide themselves, and my character has a lot to work on,” he says. “It’s good to be able to see that this is a real person and see the beauty of him loving her and trying to love her completely, and at the same time to love her completely. – there’s beauty in her trying to help him love himself.”

Catch new episodes of The Chi on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET.