Shemar Moore
Even though "Criminal Minds" star Shemar Moore won't be on the CBS series anymore, his "Baby Girl Nation" will live on. CBS

“Criminal Minds” star Shemar Moore has continued to promote himself on Instagram after his departure from the popular CBS series Wednesday night. The actor posted a clip of his interview on “The Real” Friday, where he discussed leaving the show after 11 seasons. Moore famously played Agent Derek Morgan, who made fans swoon when he affectionately nicknamed one of the characters “Baby Girl.”

A day after Morgan left the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), Moore appeared on “The Talk” to explain his exit to fans. When the hosts read tweets from upset fans, he said: “Let me get this out of the way right now, Baby Girl Nation is for life. You will always be my baby girls. Last night was not goodbye. It was not goodbye. It was a new beginning. The elevator doors closed, but they can always open up again.”

When co-host Sharon Osbourne asked how long he'd been planning to leave the series, he said it was more of a “feeling” than a decision. He used an education analogy to explain his career. Moore said his time on “The Young and the Restless” was like high school, “Criminal Minds” was like college, and now he’s ready for graduate school.

As for his personal life, Moore is ready to be a father and a husband. He compared himself to his character Derek Morgan, saying, “Shemar Moore has to catch up.”

“I’m not leaving the show to make a bunch of money and be a big star,” the actor said. “I’m leaving because in life I want balance.”

“Criminal Minds” executive producer Erica Messer assured worried fans that the series would continue without Moore, beloved as his character was. “As you’ve seen since the beginning, the BAU doesn’t just survive change, they thrive in it. After they stop to mourn the loss of what was, they adapt. This is what makes our heroes relatable —they have to shift and settle in to what becomes their new normal, just like the rest of us when we’re faced with unexpected changes,” Messer said in a statement Thursday.

“Criminal Minds” Season 11 airs on CBS Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EDT.

Follow me on Twitter @mariamzzarella

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