Landman Star Ali Larter's Reputation Was Never The Same After This Major Scandal

Ali Larter has been starring in movies since the late '90s, but it wasn't until she landed the role (or roles, rather) on NBC's superhero drama "Heroes" in 2006 that her career really took off. But with wider recognition came notoriety when her former "Heroes" co-star Leonard Roberts made an eye-opening claim about Larter, accusing her of playing a part in what he said was a racially motivated firing. The scandal didn't break out until 2020, a decade after the show ended, but it put a pretty big dent in her reputation nonetheless.

In a December, 2020 essay for Variety, Roberts expressed on-set tensions with Larter, who played his onscreen wife, that centered around what he perceived to be her unwillingness to do an intimate scene with him. Roberts chalked it up to Larter's personality. That is, until she agreed to do a much more intense intimate scene with their fellow "Heroes" star Adrian Pasdar. Roberts, who is Black, was confused. "I couldn't help wondering whether race was a factor," he penned. 

At the end of the season, he learned his character would be killed off in light of "the Ali Larter situation." While Larter initially declined to comment for Variety, she released a statement shortly after the essay was published. "I am heartbroken reading his perception of our relationship, which absolutely doesn't match my memory nor experience on the show ... I am truly sorry for any role I may have played in his painful experience during that time," she told TVLine. However, her apology didn't fix the issue.

Ali Larter may have apologized, but it wasn't good enough for many "Heroes" fans who believe Leonard Roberts was a victim of systemic racism within the entertainment industry. "Is it bad to say that I could just tell Ali Larter was a terrible person completely based of her sh*t character? Poor Leonard man. I could always tell there was something off with DL's death," a Reddit user wrote in a thread that discussed his Variety essay.

Plenty of others agreed that the killing off of Roberts' character seemed rushed and gave off the vibe that something else went on behind the scenes. "Thought it was lazy writing as they wanted a new romantic interest — never considered it could have been for a much darker reason," another Redditor replied. To others, the race factor behind some of the storylines didn't go unnoticed, even before Roberts came forward with his damning account. "It was always ridiculous to me that the one character that absolutely should not be getting shot, kept getting shot. And then ultimately killed getting shot. The racist undertones never escaped me," a third Reddit user wrote.

Roberts' claim that Larter was among the actors who treat their co-stars like trash caught some fans off guard. One Redditor in particular mentioned that, despite being a huge fan, they'd never even heard of the incident. Given that Larter went on to experience another surge in success with "Landman," it shows her reputation isn't entirely ruined. But, as "Heroes" fans across social media suggest, it definitely impacted her public image.