Gabrielle Union says NBC meeting 'productive'; network to investigate Simon Cowell: Report
A meeting between ousted “America’s Got Talent” judge Gabrielle Union and NBC was “productive,” the actress and network agreed this week.
“I was able to, again, express my unfiltered truth,” Union tweeted Wednesday. “I led with transparency and my desire and hope for real change.”
Meanwhile, NBC told Deadline that it was working with Union “to come to a positive resolution” and that “there will be a further investigation to get a deeper understanding of the facts.”
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“America’s Got Talent” creator and judge Simon Cowell was one of the topics at the meeting about the show’s reportedly “toxic” culture, according to the report. Citing an unnamed insider, Deadline reported that NBC will see if it can get Cowell to make changes to the way things are done on the show.
Union and fellow judge Julianne Hough were fired from the show in November.
The actress had been subjected to racial criticism during her time on the show, Variety reported last week, writing that Union’ hairstyles had been called “too black” for the show’s audience, but the publication didn’t specify who made the comments.
Other former judges on the show have criticized Cowell since Union and Hough were fired. Howard Stern, speaking on his SiriusXM radio show, accused Cowell and the show of having sexist double-standards, Deadline reported. And Sharon Osbourne, appearing on CBS’ “The Talk,” said the show is run like a “boys club.”
GABRIELLE UNION BREAKS SILENCE AFTER CONTROVERSIAL EXIT FROM ‘AMERICA’S GOT TALENT’
“And the boys take care of each other, and the women are not paid as much as the men,” she said.