The explosive claims revolve around a major on-set confrontation, where sources say Costner tried to push co-star Wes Bentley into ignoring Sheridan’s script and playing the scene his way instead. Bentley refused, reportedly telling Costner that he had signed up for a Taylor Sheridan show — not a Kevin Costner production. The clash escalated, with the two men allegedly lunging at each other before being pulled apart. Kelly Reilly, who was present, was said to be in tears, and production temporarily shut down.

For the cast, the incident was a breaking point. “The incident with Wes was the line in the sand. Everything was different after that,” one insider explained, noting that many of Costner’s colleagues sided firmly with Sheridan. The loyalty to the showrunner only deepened as the series’ success made Sheridan one of Paramount’s most valuable creatives, while Costner’s behavior was increasingly described as “diva-like.”

What Happened to Kevin Costner?

Obviously, the effects were massive. Costner, who once commanded $1.5 million per episode and was the undisputed face of the franchise, became persona non grata, in a manner of speaking. Disputes over scheduling and scripts soon turned into a stalemate, with Paramount and Sheridan ultimately deciding to move forward without him, and John Dutton was written out of the show when the second half of Season 5 (just call it Season 6) aired last year.

The report underscores just how fractured things became behind the scenes of one of television’s most popular dramas, and shows that sometimes the true soap opera happens off camera. Yellowstone streams on Peacock in the United States and Netflix internationally.