America’s Got Talent exit felt like ‘a public flogging’, says Gabrielle Union
Gabrielle Union said her exit from America’s Got Talent was one of the hardest moments she’s faced in the industry.
The actor opened up about leaving the reality series when she spoke on a virtual panel for the American Black Film Festival on Sunday (23 August).
According to USA Today, Union said the nature of her departure from the show “was so surprising and so heartbreaking and so frustrating and so unnecessary”.
Union acted as a judge on the hit talent show’s 14th season alongside Howie Mandel, Simon Cowell and Julianne Hough.
Both Union and Hough were not invited back to participate in further seasons of the show.
Union, however, claimed she was fired due to her complaints about racist comments and a toxic work environment on the series.
In May, US broadcaster NBC released a statement announcing that the results of an internal investigation into Union’s exit found that there was “no racial bias”.
She continued, “But that whole process was really brutal and knowing that I brought my team into that, it just sucked.”
In the same interview, the Bring It On actor spoke about her production company and its aim to provide roles and stories “where I feel like the voices of marginalised folks have not been traditionally centred or amplified”.
Read more
How Bring It On took aim at white privilege, one pom pom at a time
Bruce Hornsby: ‘My entire class cheered when Kennedy was assassinated’
