'America's Got Talent' judge Gabrielle Union to sue Simon Cowell for smoking on set and 'endangering her life'
Smoking is injurious to health. 'America’s Got Talent' judge Gabrielle Union took it pretty literally with claims that fellow judge Simon Cowell risked her health by "smoking on the set". The 47-year-old actress-activist is all set to prepare a lawsuit accusing Cowell of "endangering her life".
According to the Daily Mail, an insider said: "Gabrielle was always cross that Simon would smoke when the cameras weren’t running. For her, this is a big deal. She believes his smoking has put her life in danger. It can cause cancer and she doesn’t think she deserves to have been at risk when she was at work. This lawsuit will be sent to Simon at any moment. She is determined to see this one through."
Cowell's chain-smoking addiction is no secret to the world and it was reported that, at one point, he smoked up to 80 cigarettes a day. In 2017, he tried to quit but the next year, he was again spotted taking a drag of smoke. "If I tried to cut out cigarettes completely, I would have a real problem: too boring," he later confessed.
What's more, California's strict tobacco laws ban employers from "smoking in indoor workplaces, including restaurants, bars and enclosed workplaces." The bill also prohibits smoking in daycare facilities, including private residences. This makes Gabrielle's stance even stronger.
The feud between Cowell and Union is not new. Last November, she was asked to exit the show following a racism row when she alleged that the production staff called her hairstyle and clothes "too black". Well, that's not all. She has also maintained that the working environment on the talent show was "toxic". Multiple sources reported that Union was labeled as “difficult” by Cowell, who owns the show and has near-total creative control by NBC.
While sources say she settled her dispute with NBC network and Syco, Cowell’s entertainment empire, there are reports that Union plans to file the new lawsuit against him personally for exposing her to the dangers of passive smoking.