CRIMINAL MINDS' SHEMAR MOORE SLAMS MANDY PATINKIN FOR LEAVING SHOW

Criminal Minds star Shemar Moore has ripped into the hit show's lead actor Mandy Patinkin, who he feels has left the show in a lurch by parting ways with the dark CBS ensemble drama. 'I just don't like that he did what he did the way that he did it,' the sexy star confesses to OK!. 'It's just improper etiquette. He slapped us in the face. He simply didn't show up for work and hasn't told us why.' Shemar is particularly perplexed because the two shared a recent press junket to promote Criminal Minds in the Mediterranean resort city of Monte Carlo - and Mandy gave no indication he wanted to quit. Still, he revealed the actor was a tortured soul on the set: 'Mandy's a volatile personality. He had his good days and he had his bad days. Sometimes the content of what we did would affect him. Bottom line is, he didn't show up to work - with no warning. He didn't tell anybody he was going to do this. I've left him messages but he's just not speaking to anybody.'This isn't the first time Mandy has departed a hit series - he left the medical drama Chicago Hope during its second season right after winning an Emmy. Shemar said Mandy, acclaimed for his work in Broadway musicals, had a hard time dealing with television. 'He would say to me that he was always uncomfortable as an actor. When he sang, he felt free. He's an emotional guy. Sometimes he was the strongest, proudest man in the world -- and sometimes he was very much like a little child and you almost got the sense you had to take care of him.'Photo: Wireimage.com