Costner’s 70th birthday was celebrated by many fans of the actor on social media, but when a post from the Yellowstone account popped up with a simple message and a picture of the actor as the Dutton patriarch, it did not take long for Costner’s fans to start ridiculing the decision to share the message after the fallout of the actor’s Season 5 departure from the show in less than ideal circumstances.

Andrew25evans kicked off the run of comments by replying with the hilarious, “When your ex wishes you a happy birthday.” While there was some joviality in this comment, a follow-up from iamshellyshel was a little more direct, saying, “Y’all did him so dirty the way you sent him off…shame.” C.bowen and freedomtexan1776 both had similar sentiments noting that “TS [Taylor Sheridan] did him dirty.”

Kevin Costner’s Unexpected Departure Still Hangs Over ‘Yellowstone’

Even though the series is now over – although sequels and spinoffs galore are still ongoing – the ghost of John Dutton hung over the final season from the moment it returned for the second part of Season 5. Costner’s character met his maker early doors, and things never seemed the same for many fans.

As a show that had barely put a foot wrong across its first four and a half seasons, the return of Season 5 to Paramount for its final episodes saw the series score its lowest Rotten Tomatoes audience rating, and things only grew worse as those disgruntled by pretty much everything Season 5B had to offer continued to drag down the series’ overall rating.