Even though the news of Black Lightning discontinuing after the upcoming fourth season caught fans and the cast off-guard, China Anne McClain’s response to the news has caught fans even more off guard.

In a now-deleted Instagram video, McClain, who plays Jennifer Pierce/superhero Lightning in the series, said she was going to end her time on the show after the fourth season “regardless if it went on or not.”

Despite not knowing that the fourth season would be announced as Black Lightning‘s last, McClain did say that she knew she would leave after the fourth season “before we even started shooting this season.” She also said she only signed on for a few episodes during the upcoming season.

McClain didn’t go into deep detail as to why she decided to leave, but she did say that it’s part of a spiritual awakening she’s had over the course of the coronavirus pandemic.

“There’s been a lot to happen over this quarantine, and I’m not talking about the PC side of it,” she said according to TVLine. “God is moving in more than one way than just this show. It’s bigger than this show. I’m doing God’s work now…and I’m not doing anything else.”

She also made sure to stress that her reason for leaving has nothing to do with her time with the CW or her relationships with the network, executive producer Greg Berlanti and showrunner Salim Akil. She also wanted fans to support Jordan Calloway’s upcoming Black Lightning spinoff, Painkiller.

“Please support him in that,” she said. “God did that for him and he’s going to do great, I know it.”

Even though the video has been removed from Instagram, Twitter users re-uploaded it. You can watch the video below.

Black Lightning‘s final season is set to premiere on Feb. 8.

READ MORE:

‘Black Lightning’ To End With Upcoming Fourth Season At The CW

‘Black Lightning’ Ups Fan-Favorite To Series Regular For Season 4

‘Black Lightning’ Spinoff ‘Painkiller’ Starring Jordan Calloway Gets Backdoor Pilot At The CW

Photo credit: The CW

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