The fierce fight to protect the Dutton family's ranch will continue in Yellowstone season 5, and there will be help from attorney Angela Blue Thunder, played by actress Q'orianka Kilcher.
This casting news comes after several outlets reported earlier this summer that the Yellowstone actress had been charged with workers' compensation fraud by the State of California. According to TMZ, Q'orianka received temporary disability insurance benefits after she claimed that she suffered a neck and shoulder injury while working on Dora and the Lost City of Gold in October 2018. Per reports, Q'orianka collected "over $90,000 in disability benefits" from 2019 to 2021 while she was filming Yellowstone. She appeared in a total of four episodes in season 3 which aired in the summer of 2020.
Now, Deadline is reporting that she'll be returning as the knowledgeable lawyer in Yellowstone season 5.
Yellowstone fans may remember Q'orianka's character, Angela, helping defend the Broken Rock Reservation against Market Equities. Although the firm wanted to take over the ranch, Chief Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) was caught in the crossfire when members of the company tried to involve him in the plans.
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With the help of Angela, the tribe and the Duttons were able to shake off Market Equities' advancements. But it turns out that it wasn't a permanent solution. The upcoming fifth installment of the Paramount Network drama will feature the return of the company's CEO Caroline Warner (Jacki Weaver), who will face off with Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly). According to Q'orianka's IMDB, her character will also be present for the intense reunion.
As for the actress, she hasn't posted on Instagram since the news broke back in July. But a source told People that Q'orianka was caught off guard by the allegations. A hearing was held on September 7 and the case will pick up again on November 1, according to TMZ.
"She was shocked, to say the least, about the charges and is looking forward to getting the truth out there," the source told the outlet on August 26. "This is an incredibly stressful time for her but she hopes that this case can in some way shed light on the difficulty that actors, especially minority women, across the industry experience when injured on set, since at the end of the day, their bodies are their source of work."