‘America’s Got Talent’ in the hot seat
LOS ANGELES — NBC and the guild that represents television performers said they are investigating Gabrielle Union’s allegation that she was fired as a judge on “America’s Got Talent” because she complained of racism and other on-set issues.
“We take issues of workplace health and safety very seriously.” The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television said in a statement. “We immediately reached out to Ms. Union’s representatives when these reports came to light..”
According to reports, Union, who is black, sought action to address an environment she said allowed racist jokes, comments and notes from producers along with other troubling behavior, including judgeproducer Simon Cowell’s smoking indoors. NBC, production company Fremantle and Cowell’s company Syco issued their own statement Sunday.
“We are working with Ms. Union through her representatives to hear more about her concerns,” the statement said.
In a previous statement, the three companies said “America’s Got Talent” has a strong record of inclusivity, and judge turnover is common.
Union and another judge, Julianne
Hough, were dropped from the show on Nov. 22 after one year, Variety reported. The judging panel has changed since the show’s 2006 debut, but most judges’ tenures have lasted at least several years, including that of
Sharon Osbourne, Mel B and Howard Stern.
On his SiriusXM radio show Monday, Stern, who left the show after in 2015, slammed Cowell, saying he “sets it up that the men stay, no matter how ugly they are, no matter how old they are, no matter how fat they are, no matter how talentless they are,” and that it’s “obvious” the show consistently replaces female judges with younger and more attractive women.