Wendy Williams says Gabrielle Union's dismissal from 'America's Got Talent' was 'a sexism thing, not a black or white thing'
The dismissal of actors Gabrielle Union and Julianne Hough as judges on ‘America’s Got Talent’ has generated much controversy. Union insinuated that the move to dismiss her was because she made complaints of a racist environment on the sets.
Her dismissal came allegedly after she sought action to address an environment she said allowed racist jokes, comments and notes from producers. She also alleged other troubling behavior, including Simon Cowell’s smoking indoors.
On Monday, American radio and television personality, producer, author and actor Howard Stern had a lot to say about the matter. While speaking on his show on SiriusXM, Stern, who has been a judge on the reality show for four years in the past, said the show’s co-judge Simon Cowell had “orchestrated” the whole situation.
He said, “He sets it up that the men stay no matter how ugly [the men] are, no matter how old they are, no matter how fat they are, no matter how talentless they are,” adding that Cowell “Replaces the hot chicks with hotter chicks and younger chicks.”
On Tuesday’s episode of the daytime talk show ‘The Wendy Williams Show’, the host had a few of her own insights on the matter. She dismissed the racist angle to the story. She said, “I don’t think Simon is a racist because Simon has had relations with black women -- romantical (sic) and everything -- before. This is not, I don’t think, a black thing.”
She added, “I think this is a sexism thing and this is us all against them. And sometimes that’s how it is. It’s not always a black or white thing.” Williams further said, “Simon came outta nowhere, years ago when we first met him and just took over. I mean he smoked cigarettes inside,” confirming one of Union’s allegations.
On the matter of Hough maintaining her silence on the matter, something that even Stern had mentioned on the radio, Willaims said, “After they fired her, she’s got other projects to work on with NBC.” Coming to her defense, Williams said, “I don’t think she needs to comment on this because her money is not as secure as Gabrielle Union’s money.”
The Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists issued a statement Monday saying it is looking into Union’s allegations: “We take issues of workplace health and safety very seriously. We immediately reached out to Ms. Union’s representatives when these reports came to light... While we have taken steps to investigate this matter, we have nothing to report now.”
‘The Wendy Williams Show’ airs every weekday at 11 a.m. PT.