Yellowstone star makes brutal dig at Kevin Costner following his exit from beloved show

Yellowstone actor Luke Grimes made a bold claim about his former co-star Kevin Costner after he made his exit from the popular Paramount series.

Grimes spoke out about the series as it prepares to launch into its final episodes, bringing the stories of the characters that fans have followed for the last six years to their end.

The actor has been involved with the series since the very beginning, initially starring alongside Costner before news of an alleged conflict between Costner and series creator Taylor Sheridan emerged.

Yellowstone ended up being placed on hiatus last year as conversations took place behind the scenes, and Costner ultimately announced his departure from the series earlier this year.

Addressing fans in an Instagram post back in June, Costner, who played John Dutton, said: "I want to reach out and let you know that after this long year and a half of working on Horizon and doing all the things that’s required, and thinking about Yellowstone, that beloved series that I love, that I know you love, I just realized that I’m not going to be able to continue season 5B or into the future.

"It was something that really changed me," he continued. "I loved it. And I know you loved it. And I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be returning, and I love the relationship we’ve been able to develop and I’ll see you at the movies."

Many fans were left disappointed at the idea of the show without Costner, but now Grimes has shared a different point a view and expressed a hope that everyone would 'see that it was time' for Costner's departure.

In an interview with Esquire, he then suggested life was slightly easier on set without the actor, saying: "To be really honest, there was a part of Kevin being gone that meant some of the conflict was gone. Obviously, it didn’t make it super fun to be around. Not pointing any fingers, but it was actually the easiest season we’ve filmed.”

Costner's departure for the show also meant the end of his character, who was ultimately killed off in the opening episode of season 5 part 2.

The death was revealed to be part of a murder-for-hire plot from Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri), the girlfriend of John’s estranged brother (Wes Bentley), who staged the scene to make it look like John took his own death.

Commenting on the storyline, Yellowstone executive producer Christina Voros told The Hollywood Reporter the death was an 'incredibly brave' move by Sheridan.

"I think it is testament to his faith in the characters and the actors who embody them to go, 'Let’s not make this about the incident. Let’s make this about how these human beings exist in the aftermath.' That was more interesting to [Taylor] than the incident itself," she said.

UNILAD has reached out to representatives for Costner for comment.