Terry Crews shreds 'AGT' judges for mistreating and 'hating' on contestants ahead of Season 18 finale
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Terry Crews recently chastised the 'America's Got Talent' judges for mistreating contestants and buzzing their acts during live performances.
The 'AGT' host who frequently serves as a buffer between the competitors and the four judges, slammed the spectators for how they treated the contestants during the 2023 live episodes.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Terry revealed how infuriated he was with Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara, and Howie Mandel during the previous shows.
He further went on to claim how he's been pleading with the judges to refrain from hitting their red buzzers. The 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' star also stated that he surreptitiously consoles participants after they are humiliated by the judges off-stage.
Terry Crews lashes out at 'AGT' judges
In an exclusive interview, Terry Crews confessed that he believes the finalists have been subjected to harsher-than-usual criticism.
"First of all, this is the finals, man," Terry remarked to The Sun.
He said, "There's a reason they're here, so they don't buzz 'em, don't hate on 'em. They're doing the best they can. Let America make that decision. And sometimes I have to back 'em up. I have to. These guys are out there alone."
"All of a sudden they're just standing there with nobody to protect them," the television host added, "But I will. I'm always there to give 'em back up, and that's my job."
Terry works his magic when the cameras are turned off, but he is also honest with the participants.
"When the cameras are off, I literally give them the hug that they need and let 'em know that this is part of the career," he explained. "If you don't go through this, there is no entertainment career. That's the fact."
"This is not the end," he added to the participants. "And it would definitely not be the end of someone's career on this show."
Which acts were buzzed by 'AGT' judges during Live Show?
During this week's live event, The Cowbells competed for a position in the finale, and Sofia and Simon both pressed their red buzzers during Puppet Simon's performance.
The puppeteering group The Cowbells controls numerous puppets on stage, including the puppets of Simon and Sofia.
In an effort to appeal to the 'AGT' audience both at home and in the studio, the puppets sing and dance. The Cowbells did their hardest to win over the judges, but they failed.
During the routine, Simon and Sofia both blasted their buzzers in response to each other.
According to Simon, the performance "started well, but then got increasingly worse."
However, Simon got booed by the audience for his judgment. On the other hand, Sofia said, "No! It was horrific in the beginning."
Howie has also been known to press the red buzzer during live performances.
A look at all the performances in 'AGT' Qualifiers 5
The fifth week of 'AGT' live performances for Season 18 will run on Tuesday, September 19 (performance show) and Wednesday, September 20 (results show), with 11 of the 55 overall acts performing on stage.
Only the top two vote-getters from each of the five first qualifying rounds will proceed to the grand finale, so voting is critical.
The final Golden Buzzer, Gabriel Henrique, the artist Sofia chose, will be announced during the fifth week of qualifiers.
The identities of the 11 forthcoming artists have been verified by NBC. They are as follows:
1. 82nd Airborne Chorus
2. Avantgardey
3. Eduardo Antonio Trevino
4. Eseniia Mikheeva
5. Gabriel Henrique
6. Grace Good
7. Lachune
8. Mandy Muden
9. Ramadhani Brothers
10. Sangsoon Kim
11. Trailer Flowers
How much does Terry Crews make on 'AGT'?
Terry, who took over as host of 'AGT' in 2019, earns roughly $60,000 per episode, which equates to around $1.5 million per season, depending on the episode account, according to Distractify.
When will 'AGT' Season 18 finale air?
The two-hour Performance Finale will run on Tuesday, September 26 at 9/8c, followed by the two-hour Results Finale on Wednesday, September 27 at 9/8c.