Kevin Costner Has An Odd Way Of Dealing With His Soured Reputation (& He Isn’t Happy About It)
Between the messy fallout from his dramatic departure from Yellowstone and his divorce from Christine Baumgartner, Kevin Costner’s once-golden image has definitely taken a hit. Over the past couple of years, unflattering stories have continued to surface about what really went down behind the scenes of the hit Western series — and they don’t exactly cast the Field of Dreams star in the best light. Unsurprisingly, Costner isn’t thrilled about the negative press. What is surprising, however, is his chosen way of coping with it: he’s apparently decided to go treasure hunting. Literally.
Let’s rewind a bit. Rumors have long circulated that Costner’s exit from Yellowstone stemmed from a power struggle between him — both star and executive producer — and showrunner Taylor Sheridan. When he left the show in June 2024, Costner denied claims that he’d tried to throw his weight around on set. “I loved the show,” he said at the time. “I liked the people on the show. I liked what it was about. I love that world.” Still, the rumors refused to die down.
Adding fuel to the fire was a previously unreported incident in which Costner and co-star Wes Bentley allegedly came close to a physical altercation after tensions flared over Sheridan’s authority. According to one on-set witness, things got heated quickly: “Kevin didn’t like being challenged and lunged at him. No punches were thrown, but they were in each other’s faces, pushing and shoving until others stepped in.” Kelly Reilly, who plays Beth Dutton, was said to be particularly upset by the confrontation.
As for how Costner plans to shift attention away from all that bad press? He’s taken up treasure hunting — as in, diving for sunken gold.
Yes, you read that right. The Oscar-winning filmmaker is reportedly channeling his inner adventurer to make headlines again — by scouring the Caribbean for lost riches. A source claims Costner has already discovered gold coins and emeralds underwater and is now pitching a TV series about deep-sea treasure hunting around the world. In short, he’s turning into a real-life pirate of the Caribbean (sorry, Johnny Depp). Whether anyone’s interested in picking up the show, though, remains to be seen.
On top of the Yellowstone controversy, Costner has also faced financial strain in recent years. He mortgaged one of his properties to help fund his four-part Horizon: An American Saga project — the first film of which fell short at the box office. Perhaps this new “treasure quest” is his way of balancing the scales — or at least, striking gold in a different way.
