#Roommates, earlier this year many fans and viewers were happy to see one of our faves, Gabrielle Union, join the popular reality competition series “America’s Got Talent.” She, along with Julianne Hough, were brought on as new panel judges for the series’ 14th season—but both are now officially out and the circumstances surrounding their exits involve a lot of drama.
Love B Scott exclusively reports that Gabrielle Union and Julianne Hough’s claims of a “toxic culture” on set is just one of the reasons why both ladies were reportedly not asked to return for another season of “America’s Got Talent.” There are also reports of racism and harsh critiques regarding the ladies’ physical appearance, specifically Gabrielle Union, who was allegedly told by execs that her hair was “too black.”
The problems reportedly started back in April when former late night talk show host Jay Leno was a guest judge on the show and made a racist comment regarding Asians. During a taped segment he made a joke about judge Simon Cowell’s dogs looking like something you would find “on the menu at a Korean restaurant.” Many staff members took issue with the joke, with Gabrielle urging producers to report the joke to NBC human resources because she felt hat production needed to understand why it might offend the staff and audience members of the show. The joke was eventually cut from the August 6th episode.
However, that’s not the only issue involving Gabrielle’s exit. She was reportedly told that her rotating hair styles were “too black” for the “America’s Got Talent” audience, a note she received over half a dozen times, according to four sources with direct knowledge of the exchanges who spoke on the condition of anonymity. While Julianne denied the reports that she was critiqued on her appearance, Gabby has declined to comment.
There were also a host of other instances where Gabrielle reportedly took issues with the racist material that certain contestants on the show would present before the judges. When she brought up those concerns, producers allegedly downplayed things and told her the offensive content would be taken out at a later date.
If you’ll recall, former “America’s Got Talent” host Nick Cannon also had very similar issues with the show before he left back in 2017 after hosting for seven seasons. He released this statement following his departure:
“I was to be punished for a joke … My soul won’t allow me to be in business with corporations that attempt to frown on freedom of speech, censor artists, and question cultural choices. Not to get too detailed but this isn’t the first time executives have attempted to ‘put me in my place’ for so-called unruly actions.”
Now, “America’s Got Talent” has released an official statement on the reported “toxic culture” at the show:
“America’s Got Talent has a long history of inclusivity and diversity in both our talent and the acts championed by the show. The judging and host line-up has been regularly refreshed over the years and that is one of the reasons for ‘AGT’s’ enduring popularity. NBC and the producers take any issues on set seriously.”
Meanwhile, Gabrielle’s husband Dwyane Wade took to Twitter to share his thoughts on things:
Whew! This is a lot to take in, but usually where there’s smoke…
Roommates, what are your thoughts on this?
