Gabrielle Union hits Simon Cowell and ‘America’s Got Talent’ with racism complaint, says NBC head bullied her
On Thursday, June 4, actor Gabrielle Union filed a harassment complaint against the producers of ‘America’s Got Talent’ and the network behind the reality show, NBC. She also reportedly accused NBC Entertainment Chairman Paul Telegdy of threatening her over speaking out against racism on the sets of the show.
Per reports, the 47-year-old actor and former judge of ‘America’s Got Talent’ filed the complaint with California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), naming producers FremantleMedia and Simon Cowell’s Syco as well as NBCUniversal.
The complaint mentions several grievances Union had raised while she was part of the show. These included fellow judge (and producer) Simon Cowell smoking cigarettes indoors, and 'America's Got Talent' allowing an act to perform in "blackface hands". It also included racist remarks from fellow judge Howie Mandel, and guest Jay Leno, comments about her hair, and more.
The complaint stated: “On or about February 4, 2020, Telegdy threatened Union through her agent and warned Union’s agent that Union had better cease from pursuing her claims of racism while filming AGT. Union’s agent was shocked that the Chairman of NBC Entertainment was attempting to threaten and intimidate Union. Union’s agent could not recall another instance in his career when a senior executive at a network had threatened and intimidated an employee during an ongoing workplace investigation.”
NBC responded to the allegations saying, “The allegation that anyone involved in this process threatened Ms. Union is categorically untrue. We took Ms. Union‘s concerns seriously and engaged an outside investigator who found an overarching culture of diversity on the show. NBCUniversal remains committed to creating an inclusive and supportive working environment where people of all backgrounds are treated with respect.”
Bryan Freedman, Union’s lawyer, told Variety, “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’. 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 further said that Telegdy’s bullying of Union stood “in sharp contrast” to NBC’s recent statement on race. He said, “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.”
NBC tweeted on June 1, “We stand with our black employees, colleagues, partners, and creators in outrage at acts of racism. Black lives matter.”
Union and her fellow ‘America’s Got Talent’ judge Julianne Hough were dismissed from the reality show last year. Following that, there were reports of racism on the sets and the culture of the show being unhealthy. Speaking to Variety earlier, Union said, “At the end of all this, my goal is real change -- and not just on this show but for the larger parent company. It starts from the top down. My goal is to create the happiest, most high-functioning, inclusive, protected, and healthy example of a workplace.”
Union, on her Twitter account, has been constantly tweeting about racism in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the subsequent protests that have sprung up.