In 2015, Tony Award-nominated actress Shalita Grant joined the cast of the CBS police procedural NCIS: New Orleans. The Juilliard alum joined the cast as Special Agent Sonja Percy.

However, in 2018, news quickly arose that Grant would exit the show ahead of the fourth season finale. In an interview with The Los Angeles Times last year, Grant revealed her reasoning for exiting the CBS show was due to a toxic work show.

“In theater, it’s us against the problem,” she said. “We all come into the room knowing there are going to be problems, and we all know that we’re going to solve them together. In TV, the relationship to problems is, ‘Whose fault is it? Heads will roll!’ Nobody wants their head to roll. It takes forever for people to solve problems because nobody wants to take responsibility.”

Grant is not the only one to point out the toxic workplace environment surrounding NCIS: New Orleans. The show garnered controversy in the past when it was counted that former showrunner Brad Kern was under investigation for inappropriate behavior towards women. Kern was placed on suspension and ultimately fired by CBS.

In the interview, Grant also mentioned the lack of care for Black women’s hair in film and television, noting how her hair was damaged onset and mentioning how it “decimated my self-image.”

However, Grant turned how experience on NCIS: New Orleans into a new haircare line, Four Naturals, which caters to people with Type 4 hair.

“I learned so much from that darkness,” she said. “That trauma, I turned it into joy. Everything that happened to my hair, I healed it. It’s in my business. I am healing other Black women as well.

Since her exit, Grant has gone on to nab roles in Santa Clarita Diet, Search Party and You.