After months of being out of the spotlight, Chicago Fire’s Taylor Kinney has made his first public appearance since leaving the show to take an indefinite leave of absence in January.
On Saturday, Kinney took time to support veterans and visit the 2023 MotoGP VIP Experience & Charity Giving event at the Circuit of The Americas racing track outside of Austin, Texas. The event was for MotoUP, a non-profit supporting military communities through motorsports. Since 2019, the annual MotoGP VIP Experience & Charity Giving event at Circuit of Americas has brought together world class talent from all corners to illuminate the understanding of human potential, challenge belief systems and shift the paradigm of what is possible. It is 3 days of non stop racing action and thought provoking conversations with elite athletes, technologists, entrepreneurs, veteran community leaders, illuminators, scientists and thinkers.
MotoUP shared a group photo of Kinney with his girlfriend Ashley Cruger on the official instagram account of the organization thanking Kinney for stopping by:
Since his leave of absence was reported, Kinney has kept himself out of the public eye. In January, sources close to production of Chicago Fire confirmed to Reel Chicago that Kinney, who plays Kelly Severide, would be taking a leave of absence. “We don’t have any further details to provide. He is on a leave of absence to deal with a personal matter.”
Kinney has led the Dick Wolf series since its debut in 2012. In addition to the fire and rescue series, he has appeared on all of the spinoffs, including Chicago Med, Chicago P.D. and the short-lived Chicago Justice.
The news sent shockwaves throughout every level of production and writers had to change scripts to accommodate his indefinite absence. His leave of absence was explained in this season’s episode 15 titled Damage Control, in which Kinney’s character was sent to attend “the best arson investigation training program in the world.” His training was intended to be temporary, leaving the storyline open for Severide to return when Kinney is ready.
Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 8PM CST on NBC and streams the next day on the Peacock app.
Chicago Fire is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, in association with Wolf Entertainment. Filmed in Chicago at Cinespace Studios.
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