MacGyver star Lucas Till opens up about his abusive former boss Peter Leknov

Just weeks after MacGyver and Magnum P.I. showrunner Peter Lenkov was fired by CBS, MacGyver star Lucas Till is opening up about his old boss’ abusive behavior.

The 29-year-old actor spoke up about his former boss in a wide-ranging profile on Lenkov for Vanity Fair, where he revealed the abuse was so great he was even suicidal during the whole first season.

‘I was suicidal that first year on the show, because of the way he made me feel,’ Till said. ‘But the way he’s treated the people around me—that’s just my breaking point.’

‘I’ve never worked this hard in my life, and I am fine with hard work. But the way Peter treats people is just unacceptable,’ Till added.

The actor said that Lenkov, who was running both MacGyver and Magnum P.I. at the same time, both shot in Hawaii, was rarely on the set, but said he was responsible for the hostile work environment, adding he endured several instances of bullying, body-shaming and verbal abuse.’

One of Lenkov’s lawyers, Dale Kinsella, denied Till’s allegations, stating the claims are ‘100% false and untrue.’

He added his client, ‘has championed him from the very beginning and has been nothing but supportive of him.’

Till also revealed that he went to CBS executives with concerns about Lenkov’s behavior, in 2017 and earlier this year.

While Till believed they ‘didn’t take it seriously,’ sources within CBS say that Till’s complaints sparked a human relations inquiry into Lenkov that led to his firing. 

Till revealed in his email to H.R. that Lenkov was often making inappropriate comments about his appearance.

‘There was always something about my appearance that wouldn’t please him like when I was in a hospital gown and our producer…thought it was funny that [Lenkov] said my legs were ‘fucking hideous’ and we can never show them again.’

While Till admitted that, ‘Honestly, I found some humor in that comment as well, but you can imagine if that was a more sensitive spot that he had hit, and often did.’

He also detailed a time Lenkov screamed at a director, ‘Oh, my fucking God! Tuck his shirt in, he looks like a little fucking boy.’ Just hire a 35 year old then.’

The actor said he has also struggled with maintaining, ‘man weight’ because of, ‘the stress, no time to work out, and an unpredictable schedule for proper nourishment.’

MacGyver was renewed for its fifth season in May, though there is no word when production may start, with Monica Macer stepping in as showrunner to replace Lenkov.