Gabrielle Union, 47, could not remain silent after Terry Crews, 51, claimed that he has never heard “racism comments” on set of America’s Got Talent, a show they used to work on together. Gabrielle — whose contract wasn’t renewed to judge another season on the NBC talent show — spoke up in a series of tweets a day after Terry, who hosts AGT, defended his workplace in his Jan. 23 interview on 3rd Hour of Today. Although Gabrielle never specifically mentioned Terry, all eyes were on the talk show host, since Gabrielle was let go from the show after allegedly voicing concerns over alleged racial insensitivity on the set, according to the original Variety report that surfaced in Nov. 2019.
After a Twitter fan sent “nothing but love and support” to Gabrielle on Jan. 24, the former AGT judge replied, “Thank u! Cuz girlllllll 😐 Truth telling, wanting change & having MULTIPLE witnesses who bravely came forward to let EVERYONE know I didn’t lie or exaggerate, really exposes those who enthusiastically will throw you under the bus, forgetting quickly who stepped up 4 THEIR truth.”
Up until now, Gabrielle had remained relatively mum amid the controversy surrounding her former workplace, a silence that she seemed to acknowledge in a follow-up tweet on Friday. “Maaaaaan… We all agreed to let the investigation be completed before speaking but if we doing this… ohhhhh baby let’s gooooooooooo!” Gabrielle wrote, and just like that, she broke her silence. “Why anyone would gleefully get up on TV and tell lies that NO ONE disputed… But we already know,” Gabrielle continued in another tweet, yet again seeming to refer to Terry’s recent interview.
Thank u! Cuz girlllllll 😐 Truth telling, wanting change & having MULTIPLE witnesses who bravely came forward to let EVERYONE know I didn't lie or exaggerate, really exposes those who enthusiastically will throw you under the bus, forgetting quickly who stepped up 4 THEIR truth. https://t.co/X1uooWTpmK
— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) January 24, 2020
The L.A.’s Finest star then moved on to specific complains about AGT. “Can someone please ask abt what happens to all that diversity folks are talking about BEHIND THE SCENES. Like, legit… where the hell is all that diversity in the production though homie? In the decision making ranks who control the fate of the diversity in front of the camera?” In another tweet, Gabrielle wrote, “Let’s also talk about where the diversity is in the hair & makeup dept for contestants that DOES NOT reflect all that diversity that hits the stage. Let’s Google the exec’s that run the show & ask follow up ?? about THAT egregious lack of diversity. Let’s discuss the facts.” AGT, NBC and Freemantle all had “no comment” after HollywoodLife reached out regarding Gabrielle’s tweets.
Can someone please ask abt what happens to all that diversity folks are talking about BEHIND THE SCENES. Like, legit… where the hell is all that diversity in the production though homie? In the decision making ranks who control the fate of the diversity in front of the camera?
— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) January 24, 2020
Gabrielle’s tweets arrived shortly after Terry raved about AGT in his sit-down interview on 3rd Hour of Today. “First of all, I can’t speak for sexism because I’m not a woman. But I can speak on behalf of any racism comments. That was never my experience. In fact, it was the most diverse place I have ever been in my 20 years of entertainment,” Terry insisted during the interview on Thursday. He added, “I have to say this, too. When you look at what the allegations were about, it was given by an unnamed source. My thing is — it’s funny because I believe you should listen to women, you should always believe women, so I asked my wife what I should do. She was like, first of all, if it’s coming from an unnamed source, because Gabrielle Union has not made any statement to this day about any of these allegations publicly … if she hasn’t made a statement, why would you?”
Terry also revealed he hasn’t spoken to Gabrielle since she was let go from the show. Clearly, Gabrielle is hurt. Again, she didn’t name names, but her comment about stepping up for someone’s “truth” came after she publicly voiced her support for Terry after he claimed a Hollywood executive sexually assaulted him in 2017 (something not all his colleagues did). “Terry Crews is a stand-up guy. Literally one of the nicest people in our industry. He is honest, kind & true professional. I believe him & stand by him. #MeToo,” she tweeted at the time.
This is the first time Gabrielle has gone into detail about her controversy with AGT. She kept to a much more ambiguous tone when tweeting about the situation in Dec. 2019, writing, “We had a lengthy 5-hour, and what I thought to be, productive meeting yesterday. I was able to again, express my unfiltered truth. I led with transparency and my desire and hope for real change.”