“Matlock” Season Premier Airs Amid Sexual Assault Allegations

Summary

Podcast Summary: “Matlock” Season Premier Airs Amid Sexual Assault Allegations

Podcast: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present
Date: October 13, 2025
Hosts: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes
Producer: iHeartPodcasts

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode delves into the high-profile firing of David Del Rio from CBS’s hit show Matlock following sexual assault allegations by his co-star, Leah Lewis. The hosts navigate the confusion, social media fallout, industry response, and broader cultural implications as the show’s season premiere airs under a cloud of controversy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Background on the Incident

• Matlock’s much-anticipated second season premiered just days after David Del Rio (“Billy Martinez”) was fired from the ensemble due to sexual assault allegations from his co-star Leah Lewis.
• The incident allegedly occurred near Del Rio's trailer on September 26; the firing happened quickly after Lewis’s report ([03:16]–[03:53]).
• The CBS internal investigation led to Del Rio being immediately escorted off set; no criminal charges or police involvement have been reported at the time of recording ([04:36]–[05:16]).

2. Timeline & Handling by CBS

• The network acted swiftly: “CBS studios made their call pretty quickly. That's the thing that I think has thrown a lot of folks reading this is that this … was a quick decision.” ([04:36] Amy Robach)
• There has been no official CBS statement; most information has been pieced together through social media and insider sources ([04:36]–[05:16]).

3. The Role and Repercussions for Leah Lewis

• Leah Lewis (28), the alleged victim, self-identified via a public Instagram post featuring her mother, indicating she was moving forward “in strength” ([05:40]–[08:16]).
• This self-identification led news outlets to name her, which is notable in cases involving sexual assault allegations ([08:39] Amy Robach).

4. Public & Family Reactions

• Catherine Del Rio, David’s wife, responded aggressively on social media, criticizing Lewis, reposting and mocking her Instagram statement—though she later deleted the posts ([08:16]–[10:42]).
  • “This is the most disturbing human being I have ever met.” ([09:10] Amy Robach, quoting Catherine Del Rio)
  • “Mom is here. We are moving forward in love and strength after what Leah did to our family.” ([09:30] Amy Robach, quoting Catherine Del Rio)
• The social media drama included unfollows and deleted supportive posts, further fueling public speculation.

5. Seriousness of the Allegation & Legal Questions

• The hosts question why no criminal charges or police involvement have emerged so far.
  • “Assault is the absolute term that's being used and that is a very strong word.” ([10:58] Amy Robach)
  • “If we're talking about sexual assault … it's a criminal act.” ([11:04] TJ Holmes)
• They speculate about possible evidence (e.g., surveillance cameras) that convinced CBS to act so swiftly, noting the difficulty of he-said, she-said cases ([11:25]–[12:58]).

6. Impact on the Show and Its Storyline

• Del Rio’s character, a linchpin of the plot, will need to be written out. The sudden change presents creative challenges for the writers ([06:55]–[07:34]).
• The show was already scheduled for a production break, unrelated to the firing ([06:25]).

7. Industry & Cultural Reflections

• Both hosts discuss the dilemma between believing alleged victims (especially women) and ensuring fairness to the accused, acknowledging the history of women not being believed in the industry.
  • “We always … err on the side of believing the victim, the alleged victim … But then the but comes in because if we're not right, then this guy has been destroyed.” ([20:02] TJ Holmes)
  • “I don't think you can go to the overcorrection mode of always believing the women and always assuming the worst of the man.” ([25:07] Amy Robach)
• They stress the irreparable harm such allegations cause to all involved, regardless of eventual findings ([18:56]–[21:28]).

8. Success and Pressure of Matlock

• Matlock is portrayed as a rare TV hit:
  • Averaged 16 million viewers per episode; #1 new show, Emmy nominations for Kathy Bates ([23:26]–[23:50]).
  • The timing of the scandal was prime: “All of this happening just as the first episode of this second season aired…” ([23:50] Amy Robach).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On CBS’s Immediate Response:
  “This was a quick decision. There wasn't time for ... [much]. They said there was an investigation, but I don't know how long that investigation could have gone on.”
  — Amy Robach [04:36]

• Leah Lewis’s Self-Identification:
  “She and her mom smiling next to her, saying, mom is here, we're moving forward in love and strength. I'm in good hands.”
  — Amy Robach describing Leah’s Instagram [08:16]

• Catherine Del Rio's Reaction:
  “This is the most disturbing human being I have ever met.”
  — Catherine Del Rio, via Amy Robach [09:10]

• On the Weight of Allegations:
  “Assault is the absolute term that's being used and that is a very strong word.”
  — Amy Robach [10:58]

• On Industry Challenges: “He just welcomed a second baby girl this past year ... This is just gutting for him personally, his career and certainly for the young lady who spoke out. I mean, everybody loses in a situation like this.”
  — Amy Robach [18:56]

• On Believing Victims vs. Due Process:
  “I don't think you can just say that you have to believe everybody if they make an accusation … but I don't think you can go to the overcorrection mode of always believing the women and always assuming the worst of the man.”
  — Amy Robach [25:07]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:43] – Introduction to the Matlock controversy and timeline of the firing
• [03:16] – David Del Rio’s role and the suddenness of his dismissal
• [05:40] – Leah Lewis self-identifies as the accuser
• [08:16] – Leah Lewis’s Instagram post and public reaction
• [09:10] - [09:30] – Catherine Del Rio’s social media response
• [10:58] - [12:25] – Legal implications and scrutiny of CBS’s investigation
• [18:56] – Discussion of collateral damage in such cases
• [23:26] - [23:50] – The scale of Matlock’s success and ratings
• [25:07] – Debate on believing accusers vs. overcorrection

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Overall Tone

The conversation is sober, emotionally charged, and reflective. Both hosts balance a cautious approach to due process with real empathy for both alleged victim and accused, and keenly observe the cultural, familial, and professional fallout affecting all involved.

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Conclusion

Amy Robach and TJ Holmes present a sensitive, in-depth discussion of a breaking entertainment story, highlighting the speed and severity of the fallout, the ethical quandaries around public accusations, the power of social media narratives, and the dilemmas facing networks and individuals in the modern media landscape.

Transcript

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[TJ Holmes]

Hey there folks. It is Monday, October 13th. And last night was the season premiere of the hit show Matlock. It's back for a second season just days after one of its stars was fired. Welcome everybody, to this episode of Amy and TJ talking here about a story that's still developing, still confusing, quite frankly, robes. But one of the lead ensemble actors in this show is out over what appears to be sexual harassment or sexual assault claims.

[Amy Robach]

Yes, David Del Rio, he's 38 years old. He plays Billy Martinez on Matlock. A big part of the show, actually, and part of the show coming from season one into season two was a cliffhanger with one of his love interests and a baby. And so, yes, he's been a central part of this highly successful series on cbs. And to hear word late last week that he was fired and escorted off the set the same day his co star made allegations of a sexual assault she claims happened a few days prior to.

[TJ Holmes]

So and you were just speaking on him being central to this cast and central to the plot. And yeah, sure enough, I mean, that just happened to be the case. But he did. That storyline you talk about continued yesterday in the season premiere of this show. So the word had gotten out, of course, had spread that he had been fired and what it was about. And then to have this hit show, and it is, folks, a hit over there at CBS to have it on the air just days after and him playing a central role. And we're having to focus on the person that, who is being accused of only at this point, something along the lines of sexual assault. It was just a weird. And the timing was weird.

[Amy Robach]

It is, it is bizarre. And I have not seen. And we did a little bit of extra research on this, but I have not seen any indication or any talk about criminal charges in this. This was solely a situation that the CBS studios made their call pretty quickly. That's the thing that I think has thrown a lot of folks reading this is that this has been a, this was a quick decision. This was, there wasn't time for. They said there was an investigation, but I don't know how long that investigation could have or would have gone on. We don't have any official word from CBS regarding this instance. We've actually seen a lot of it, unfortunately play out on social media. And so that's how people are connecting a lot of these dots.

[TJ Holmes]

And so the, the dots. And I don't think we've said who we're talking about here yet, but she has been identified and some. And again, this is a weird part of the story for me at least ropes self identified, if you will, affirmed if you will, in a post. But a co star on the show is the one who is now allegedly accused him of some kind of sexual misconduct.

[Amy Robach]

28 year old Leah Lewis, she did put something out on social media that basically named herself as the alleged victim in this. And so yes, so many news outlets that would not have ever reported her name, including us, said okay, hey, we're gonna say who it is because she basically put her name out there and her face out there in a post that she put out there alongside her mother saying mom is here. Things are. We can get into that in just a bit. But she claims, at least from what we've gathered, that there was an alleged sexual assault near David Del Rio's trailer. This is according to her, and she claims this allegedly happened on September 26th and we just found out about it late last week.

[TJ Holmes]

However, yeah, they got their results, if you will, of their investigation and the show has been shooting. They had been at work. They do have a break now and they'll be on break from shooting at least the rest of this month and the month of November. That was pre scheduled, that was pre planned has nothing to do with this incident. But yeah, they were working and whatever the results of this investigation showed, they made the determination that they did not want him on the premises a moment longer.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Wow.

[Amy Robach]

And so yes, we understand that David Del Rio's character Billy will be written out of the show, at least yesterday's episode. Yes, he, he had a big life decision to make, who he was going to be with. A baby is on the way, so they'll have to figure out a plot that doesn't involve him being a part of it. Well, they'll just have to. Maybe he heads for the hills and leaves a note behind. But short of that, I can't imagine what else other than him dying. But then they'd have to show him dying or so this will be a little bit of a pickle that these writers will have to write themselves out of or into another version of a different storyline where he just disappears.

[TJ Holmes]

I guess they have time now. I mean it's a good thing they have the break that they do have. Again, that's not first and foremost what happens to a show. But I with the post from Leah, we talk about Leah Lewis, the post that we're going to read the entire text of. There's someone else, not Del Rio himself, but someone else in his camp who's been speaking kind of sort of on his behalf and I was surprised by this. I was confused by this, and I'm curious to hear what you make of it. But his wife put out some posts that can only be interpreted one way. She's pissed at Leah Lewis.

[Amy Robach]

Oh, outraged. And yes. So what happened? Leah Lewis put up an Instagram story, which she didn't have to, with her mom. She and her mom smiling next to her, saying, mom is here. We're moving forward in love and strength. I'm in good hands. Thank you to everybody for any kind of support and care. Truly, we're moving forward in strength and keyword strength. Please let that be the takeaway.

[TJ Holmes]

Now, is that an. I stopped immediately just reading that. Is that enough that folks know that she is identifying herself as the alleged?

[Amy Robach]

That in addition to the people on the set who were, of course, sources saying and talking about what was going on. So certainly that was the confirmation that news outlets needed to know that she, in fact, was the person who reported an alleged sex sexual assault. And so, Yes, I think 100%, that was basically the confirmation that folks needed to go ahead and go forward with having her be the named alleged victim. But then David Del Rio's wife, Catherine Del Rio, who is also an actress and a chef, she pretty quickly then took that Instagram story post by Leah, zoomed in on Leah's face, and put it on her story. This is the most disturbing human being I have ever met. She deleted that one a short while later, but then put up another picture, this time a photo of herself with her own mom. And then she used the same words that were in Leah Lewis's post. And so she just switched it up a little bit. She wrote, mom is here. We are moving forward in love and strength after what Leah did to our family. So she outed her, she mocked her, and she let everyone know that she dislikes her, is the most disturbing human being I have ever met. Look, these were all people who knew each other, worked with each other. You know how spouses are with folks on the set. So there were also news outlets. They always loved to report when people unfollow each other. They all unfollowed one another. Leah apparently had put, you know, when they were kinder, better times, had left comments on her post. Those all disappeared when she unfollowed her. So clearly this all points to just a difficult situation and people airing out their grievances or at least trying to elicit support using social media.

[TJ Holmes]

How long before the police show up? I mean, if. If what's being described and what's being Talked at I'm. Again, it's being. Which were. I want to get the right word. Sexual misconduct, sexual assault, sexual. It's not, not harassment. This was a strong sexual assault.

[Amy Robach]

Assault is the absolute term that's being used and that is a very strong word.

[TJ Holmes]

Yes, that can mean a lot of things, but I think in any phase of it, it's still a criminal act. There is. This is not just a, you know, passing a note or telling a dirty joke type of stuff in an office that could get you reprimanded. This is criminal stuff. If we're talking about a sexual assault.

[Amy Robach]

What I'm trying to figure out is, and I think a lot of folks are doing the same thing for CBS to be that sure. Within hours of Leah Lewis, the actors bringing this accusation to them, for them to be able to say that they conducted an internal investigation and it only took a couple of hours for them to then fire and escort him off the lot. They say this happened allegedly near his trailer. So were there cameras? Is there surveillance video? Is there something irrefutable? Because so often the most difficult crime, the most. One of the most difficult crimes to actually bring charges on and actually convict someone of is that very thing, because it's a he said, she said thing. Usually there were only two people around and both people say two different things. It's very hard to prove something like this. So that's why I'm a little shaken in the sense that this could be determined so quickly that CBS would feel confident in their decision to make this call.

[TJ Holmes]

I mean, they have a different standard than a criminal court. Right. They can do what they want to do, but they also have to balance, make sure they don't get sued, I suppose. But could you get sued by leaving somebody on the lot that others deemed a danger to his co workers because you knew of a sexual assault allegation and you did nothing. I mean, it just, it happened so quickly. Look, the investigation, yes, took days, but once they got it, it didn't seem like there was much time for. And I assume they had to have talked to him as a part of the investigation.

[Amy Robach]

Yes, I would think that. That he would have had to have had his say. But the interesting thing is if you start to look at these two, they've been playing opposite one another now for this full season and up moment. They spoke very highly about each other on several occasions because their characters had a strong bond on the show, which you'll see throughout, I guess, for the rest of this season while they're still together. But just listening and reading some of the things that Leah Lewis has said about David Del Rio recently. David Del Rio, who plays Billy, who plays kind of like my counterpart, I've learned so much about comedy from him, she said in September of last year. He comes from a theater background, so it's like we're always dancing and twinkling around the set. She said that he has one of the largest personalities and skill sets that I've ever been able to work with. So it's been playtime. So she talked about how much fun they've had on the set together. And she said that it's been incredible working with him, the way that he carries himself on set. So, yeah, she said glowing things about him. Just one year ago, leading up to this first season, what in the world happened?

[TJ Holmes]

And again, this is just an allegation at this point, but CBS at least has taken it seriously enough that they have taken pretty decisive action. So robes that you have to take it at that point being more than just a rumor, more than there was something that made them take off a central character on what is a hit TV show which are few and far between these days.

[Amy Robach]

That's right.

[TJ Holmes]

They're messing with some magic they have over there. Well, folks, stay with us. I don't know if you've been watching Matlock, but we're going to explain just how big of a show and big of a hit this show is and has even made one of our favorite actresses a record setter.

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I can see you as Mr. Darcy.

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[Amy Robach]

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[TJ Holmes]

All right folks, we continue on this Monday, October 13th. Got a bit of a mess going on over there at CBS on one of their hit shows. One of the stars of Matlock has been fired. Fired a few days ago after what is a sexual assault. Allegation by a co star, Leah Lewis, who also plays on the show. They both are, they're the youngest, they're the young kind of hotheads on the show. Yes, the young first year associates.

[Amy Robach]

First year associates. And they actually play best friends. So the two of them have been starring opposite each other to. As you pointed out before we went to the break, TV magic. Chemistry like that doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's fun to watch. And so this show has become a powerhouse in large part, obviously because of Kathy Bates, the amazing star of the show, but certainly the other cast members have been a central part of making it a. A hit success. So this is a shocking and to say unpleasant headline is just an understatement because it's actually so incredibly sad for the show, for the cast, for. I'm even thinking of Del Rio's family. He just welcomed a second baby girl this past year. So he and his wife have two young daughters. They're. One's a toddler, one's an infant. And this is just gutting for him personally, his career and certainly for the young lady who spoke out. I mean, I. Everybody loses in a situation like this. It's. And it's without any real information. There's a big vacuum where people are trying to guess what happened.

[TJ Holmes]

I mean, right at this point, we always, we always. Right. Robes. We have to err on the side of believing the victim, the alleged victim. We are supposed to, we are told to. And we have to do we not have to do that? But then the but comes in because if we're not right, then this guy has been destroyed.

[Amy Robach]

Destroyed. Who's destroyed? I was looking at his wife's Instagram and she actually talked about postpartum depression in 2024. She's had two babies right in a row. But saying that 2024 was the hardest year of her life. I was reading this post where she talked about how her husband David has been working 14 hour days at Matlock. They've been apart. She's been struggling, pregnant and with a toddler and dealing with postpartum depression and how she was thanking folks in the industry for helping lift her up and get her through this. And then I could only imagine she thought 2024 was the worst year of her life. Now enter this moment now where her husband's being accused of sexual assault by a fellow cast member and his career will likely be ruined if any of that is true or if any of it's proven to be true. And frankly, at this point, even With a hint of, of something like that hanging over your head, who's going to touch you, who's going to hire you? I mean, this is, this is an allegation now these days where when you make. Doesn't really ever go away, does it?

[TJ Holmes]

Then how do you ever, how can we ever presume innocence in this case, by presuming innocence of this man, we are casting doubt on how much we believe this woman. Isn't that just naturally what you do in something like this? If we are reserving judgment of this man, that means we are reserving judgment of her story. And I guess we do. We just let it play out and I guess that's what we should do. But the nature of sexual assault allegations, it's just different. And so many women are not and have been, have not been believed to where, I don't know. These are, these are. When it's something like this, when something, when his name being out there now. And this could be a hundred percent true.

[Amy Robach]

It could absolutely be true. But it's also a man with, like I said, two young girls, a wife who vehemently is defending him. And you know, absolutely, you can tell by her tone and her choices on social media that she is on his side in every way, shape or form. But yes, it's now this incredibly divisive situation where, yes, just the mention of something like this, because this wasn't Leah Lewis saying that it was a unwanted sexual advance. It wasn't that this was unwanted sexual pressure or some sort of flirtation that she didn't want. She. The, the actual phrase is sexual assault. Now that's like you're imagining this happening on set outside of a trailer. What would, how could that possibly happen? But people will probably tell you I've never been on a set that this is commonplace. I don't know, but certainly a lot of questions. And as you pointed out before we went to the break, this is a hit show at a time where you don't have a lot of hit shows. TV and hit shows aren't going hand in hand in the same sentence.

[TJ Holmes]

This is a powerhouse. To hear that a show is averaging 16 million viewers per episode last season. Now that's across television and streaming, but 16 million viewers per. Anybody would take those numbers.

[Amy Robach]

Oh my goodness, yes.

[TJ Holmes]

So it was the number one new show on TV last year and I think it ended up ranking, I think, number two or number three overall. It is a powerhouse, of course, behind Kathy Bates.

[Amy Robach]

Kathy Bates. And so, yes, the second season has been highly anticipated, highly regarded. Yes, she got an Emmy nomination for her role in this. So look, on one hand, I imagine they probably had a lot more eyes on their show than maybe even before. This might have been a record breaker for their brand new season two. I mean, imagine all of this happening just as the first episode of this second season aired on Sunday night. This all hit Thursday of last week. It's not the kind of publicity you want, it's certainly not the kind of attention you want, but I imagine more eyes than ever before were on that show last night.

[TJ Holmes]

And for both of them, they're young actors and this is the biggest role they've had in their career. This is their big career moment and this is happening here now. Again. It's just these are very, very difficult stories and Leah Lewis, I mean, thoughts with her for whatever may have happened. But I mean, she has to be. Don't we have to start there? Robe. Is it that simple? Just. She has to be believed. You just have to start there. Do we always start there? It's just we have to. We're. We have to.

[Amy Robach]

And I don't know, I struggle with that premise because I don't think that. Look, obviously as a woman, I've got two daughters. You've got daughters like we understand and I've been in the entertainment business. And you want to make sure that we give women and men who accuse anyone of any sort of misconduct a, a platform. We want to give them an opportunity to be believed. But I don't think you can just say that. You have to believe everybody if they make an accusation. I think there are plenty of unfortunate situations where there are ulterior motives. I'm not saying that that is the case in this one, but I don't think I, I'm not somebody who believes that we automatically have to believe everybody who accuses somebody of something like this. I understand it's gone on for too long that women have been completely dismissed and completely disreg. Never believe. Now that's not okay either. But I don't think you can go to the overcorrection mode of always believing the women and always assuming the worst of the man. I just, I don't think you can, can go to that extreme either.

[TJ Holmes]

Okay, maybe I'm saying the wrong way. You just have. I guess maybe we're open to stories of women coming forward and that's a big part of it. You have to be open to, to those stories and because too often, I guess it was dismissed and not listened to in at all and the folks just sided with the man. And that was the end of the story. Okay, so that's.

[Amy Robach]

So you don't want an overcorrection. We don't want to go back to those days either where women are afraid to speak up or afraid of not just losing. For a lot of women who have been in this position, it's not even about losing your credibility or losing the job you have. It's about losing your career for being that woman, for being that woman who points the finger at someone else, who's difficult to work with, who can't take a joke. Like all of those things I understand are a part of the reason why we need to give women a safer space to speak up and to know that she can be believed and if she's telling the truth, will be believed. But I don't think we can go so far as to say, let's automatically give her the benefit of the doubt. I don't think we can do that. I think about her and I. And I feel for her, but I also think about him and again, his wife and his daughters and just his opportunity to say something. He has not spoken at all, nor has anyone officially on his behalf. We've just obviously seen the, I would say rage coming from his wife, which I can understand on a personal level, but she did take both of those posts down. They no longer are up, but it doesn't matter. These days, if you had it up for 30 seconds or 30 minutes, someone's gonna screen, grab it and get it and report on it. And so we know that back and forth has happened, and hopefully we'll get some more information in the days to come. But in the meantime, we just wanted to jump on and talk about this unfolding situation with a major, major television show these days. Matlock premiere on Sunday night. We'll see what happens as that plot thickens off camera and in front of it. I'm Amy Robach alongside TJ Holmes. Thanks for being with us, everybody.

[Cal Penn]

Hey, audiobook lovers. I'm Cal Penn.

[Ed Helms]

I'm Ed Helms.

[Cal Penn]

Ed and I are inviting you to join the best sounding book club you' heard with our new podcast, Hearsay. The Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club.

[Ed Helms]

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[Cal Penn]

Listen to Earsay on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Follow earsay and start listening on the free iHeartradio app.

[Amy Robach]

Today, a GLP1 helped you lose weight, but now you're noticing unwanted facial changes.

[TJ Holmes]

Yeah, the weight came off, but facial volume loss and dull sagging skin are making you look older. That's where the next phase of your weight loss journey comes in.

[Amy Robach]

There's before weight loss, after weight loss, and then the after. After.

[TJ Holmes]

Yeah. Help restore and refresh your facial skin and reclaim your natural looking youthful glow.

[Amy Robach]

To learn more, visit face afterweightloss.com that's face afterweightloss.com Ah, come on. Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient.

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[Amy Robach]

Whoa, this thing moves.

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[TJ Holmes]

What kind of man would let this.

[Liberty Mutual Announcer]

Happen to his family? Inspired by shocking actual events, I'm working.

[Amy Robach]

On a story about the Murdochs. Their abuses of power are playing out in real time.

[TJ Holmes]

Starring Academy Award winner Patricia Arquette and Jason Clark.

[Liberty Mutual Announcer]

It's only cheating if you get caught. Hulu Original Series Murdoch Death in The.

[TJ Holmes]

Family premieres October 15th on Hulu and.

[Amy Robach]

Hulu on Disney plus for bundle subscribers. Terms apply.

[Liberty Mutual Announcer]

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[Amy Robach]

This is an iHeart podcast.