Gabrielle Union speaks out about ‘toxic work environment’ on AGT
Written by Site Hub on May 29, 2020
In a new interview, actress Gabrielle Union-Wade has opened up about her time as a judge on America’s Got Talent. The ‘toxic work environment’ resulted in her and her fellow judge Julianne Hough being fired from the NBC set in December last year.
Speaking to Variety, Gabrielle said: “I signed up for the experience of being a part of a show that hails itself as the biggest stage in the world. Super diverse, and one about giving people an opportunity to shine where they otherwise probably wouldn’t.”
Gabrielle mentioned Simon Cowell in the interview, saying: “Coming onto a set and you are literally met with the very definition of a toxic work environment, and it’s being carried out by the most powerful person on the production.”
However, she also opened up about her experiences with Jay Leno, who was reported to have made a controversial joke about Cowell’s dogs, saying they looked like food items from a Korean restaurant.
Gabrielle added: “I gasped. I froze. Other things had already happened, but at this point, it was so wildly racist.” When the joke was edited out, Gabrielle unsuccessfully raised issues about the physical and emotional toxicity to Freemantle, the production company behind the talent show.
Fremantle is currently under investigation from actors union SAG-AFTRA.
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