Former America’s Got Talent judge Gabrielle Union has filed a new complaint in California to look into the actresses’ claims of racism and other discrimination on the NBC reality show. On June 4th, Union filed a complaint alleging that the Simon Cowell-created show terminated her as a judge after she refused to stay quiet about her claims of a “toxic culture.”
Union’s complaint comes after AGT‘s network NBC, Producers Fremantle, and owner Syco Productions, all cleared Simon Cowell and the show from any wrong doing. The internal review gave the production a pass on her allegations and went as far to say that AGT promotes an “overall culture of diversity.”
In her complaint. Union alleges “racist jokes, racist performances, sexual orientation discrimination, and excessive focus on female judges’ appearances,” among other things. You can read Union’s complaint here.
“When Gabrielle Union informed NBC of racially offensive conduct during the taping of America’s Got Talent, NBC did not ‘stand’ with her in ‘outrage at acts of racism,'” said her attorney Bryan Freedman in a reference to the network’s recent attempt to appear socially conscious. “Instead, NBC did not care enough to either promptly investigate Ms. Union’s complaints or even ask HR to get involved. Rather, NBC stood against her and directed its ‘outrage’ at Ms. Union for whistleblowing about the racially offensive conduct she experienced while working for NBC on America’s Got Talent.”
Freedman then adds, “In sharp contrast to NBC’s recent statement on race, what was truly an ‘outrage’ was the fact that Paul Telegdy, Chairman of NBC Entertainment, actually threatened Ms. Union in an attempt to silence her from telling the truth about racist actions that took place on the show. There is no place for this type of racial bullying in the workplace, and it is going to take more than a Tweet from NBC to demonstrate that NBC intends to create an environment free from racism.”
Source: The Hollywood Reporter