Director Frank Darabont has branded network executives "sociopaths" for firing him from The Walking Dead and now refuses to watch the show he helped create.

The Shawshank Redemption director launched the hit zombie drama on American channel Amc in 2010, but he exited the project in 2011 with budget cuts and strained relations with network executives blamed for his departure.

Darabont is still so upset about his firing that he refuses to watch later seasons of the show, and he has now publicly criticised Amc executives for letting him go.

When asked whether he watches the zombie show, he tells Variety.com, "If the woman you loved with all your heart left you for the Pilates instructor and just sent you an invitation to the wedding, would you go?"

He adds, "There's a deep commitment and emotional investment that happens when you create something that is very near and dear to you, and when that is torn asunder by sociopaths who don't give a s**t about your feelings or the feelings of your cast and crew because they have their own reasons to s**ew everybody, that doesn't feel good."