'Scandal' actor Columbus Short leaving hit ABC show

Reuters
Actor Columbus Short, one of the stars of the film "Cadillac Records",attends the film's premiere in Hollywood, California November 24, 2008. REUTERS/Fred Prouser

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Scandal" actor Columbus Short said on Friday he would not be returning to the hit ABC drama for its next season, a month after the actor was arrested on a felony battery charge. Short, 31, who plays Harrison Wright opposite actress Kerry Washington's Olivia Pope character, said in a statement that he "must confirm my exit from a show I've called home for 3 years." "Everything must come to an end and unfortunately the time has come for Harrison Wright to exit the canvas," he added, without providing details on the reason for his departure. ABC, owned by Walt Disney Co., did not comment on Short's exit from the salacious political drama from hit show creator Shonda Rhimes, which ended its third season last week. Short was charged with felony battery from a March incident in which he allegedly punched and knocked out a male guest at a Los Angeles restaurant. (Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Mary Milliken; Editing by Diane Craft)