After exiting as a judge on So You Think You Can Dance under ambiguous circumstances, Matthew Morrison is sharing his side of the story. He first confirmed his departure from this season last Friday, acknowledging his failure to follow “competition production protocols, preventing me from being able to judge the competition fairly.”

A SYTYCD source then told People that Morrison was fired for having “an inappropriate relationship with a female contestant” that consisted only of “flirty direct messages on social media” sent from Morrison to the dancer. “She felt uncomfortable with his line of comments and went to producers, who then got Fox involved,” the source claimed. “He was fired after they did their own investigation.”

But Morrison disputed that account on Thursday via his Instagram. “It’s really unfortunate that I have to sit here and defend myself and my family against blatantly untrue statements made anonymously, but I have nothing to hide,” he said in a video. “So in the interest of transparency, I will read to you the one message that I wrote to a dancer on the show.”

He then read the alleged direct message: “Hey, it’s Matthew. If you don’t mind, would love to get your number and talk you through some things.”

“The end,” Morrison said after reading. “I sent this because this dancer and I both share a mutual respect for a choreographer that I’ve known for over 20 years, and I was trying to help her get a job as a choreographer on the show.” He continued: “It’s devastating that we live in this world where gossip rules and people’s lives are being thrown around as clickbait. I think this is much bigger than me and this story. Gossip is toxic and it is destroying our society, and we need to do better.”

Renee Puente, Morrison’s wife with whom he shares two children, reposted Morrison’s video, writing, “It’s been a wild ride… My husband has finally been given an opportunity to speak his truth. He has done so with such grace and integrity in a situation that is complex and incredibly complicated.”

Morrison, who will reportedly appear in four episodes of season 17, which aired its season premiere on May 18, said he “in no way” wanted this controversy “to take away from the show.” He signed off by wishing the contestants and his fellow judges, JoJo Siwa and Stephen “tWitch” Boss, “all the best.”