America's Got Talent caused a whole lot of buzz back in November 2019 when news broke that the popular reality competition series was dropping its two newest additions: judges Gabrielle Union and Julianne Hough. The story unfolded to reveal that Union had reached out to producers with issues about inappropriate behavior regarding race, with further reports circulating that both Union and Hough were frequently criticized for their looks. While Hough didn't share Union's complaints, women of Hollywood came to her defense. But what about AGT host Terry Crews?
Terry Crews, who was also a relative newcomer to AGT when Gabrielle Union and Julianne Hough were cut from the series, didn't speak out right away about the firings. Now, however, Crews shared his thoughts on what happened during an appearance on Today, saying this:
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. 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?
In his comments about Gabrielle Union's firing from America's Got Talent, Terry Crews was quick to establish that he never experienced racism during his time on the show, and he wasn't fired along with Union. Considering how long Crews has worked in showbiz and the diversity of the cast on Brooklyn Nine-Nine compared to many other shows on primetime, his comments about AGT as "the most diverse place" may carry a lot of weight. He didn't deny Union's claims, but simply stated he hadn't had an experience like she reported.
In the second half of Terry Crews' comments, he explained why he didn't take the spotlight to weigh in on the sexism Gabrielle Union reported experiencing on America's Got Talent, and he clearly put thought into how he would handle the hot-button issue. By asking his wife, he received a woman's perspective, and decided that it wasn't on him to make a statement when Union herself hadn't named any names publicly.
All in all, Terry Crews was fairly diplomatic in how he addressed the issue of Gabrielle Union's firing, in my opinion. He didn't condemn America's Got Talent when he didn't share Union's experiences, but he also didn't make light of what reportedly led to her exit from the series. He also doesn't sound like he's inclined to leave AGT any time soon.
The current installment of the franchise with Terry Crews as host is the second season of America's Got Talent: The Champions, featuring AGT regular judges Simon Cowell and Howie Mandel, returning AGT judge Heidi Klum, and Britain's Got Talent's Alesha Dixon. You can catch new episodes of America's Got Talent: The Champions on NBC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET in the midseason TV lineup.
