NBC Radio Silent As ‘America’s Got Talent’ Controversy Grows With Claims By NBA Legend Dwyane Wade That Gabrielle Union Was Pink Slipped For Speaking Out

Dominic Patten

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Turns out Dwyane Wade knows how to shut down the opposition off the court as well as he did back in his Miami Heat days.

In an emotional and no-holds-barred series of social media posts, the NBA legend eviscerated the recent departure (aka he’s says “fired”) of his spouse Gabrielle Union from America’s Got Talent and what really went down at the NBC series. And it isn’t all air kisses, hugs and buzzers, if you know what I mean.

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As Wade took to Twitter and controversy swirls around the circumstances of Union and the more circumspect Julianne Hough’s exits from the well-watched summer show just one season after they replaced Mel B and Heidi Klum, NBC and AGT were silent. After a flimsy statement Tuesday when reports of backstage concerns and attitudes by Union, to put it mildly, first emerged, the best Deadline could get from the network today was a “no comment.”

That’s quite the lack of response after Wade went public with allegations that all but scream out there was racial bias and perhaps more going on at AGT.

With NBC parent company Comcast already accused of racial bias and now trying to help Donald Trump’s DOJ roll back longstanding and vital civil rights legislation in its multibillion-dollar battle with Weather Channel owner Byron Allen, the lack of response about Wade’s very pointed comments about what occurred to his L.A.’s Finest star spouse runs the risk of being an admission unto itself.

“There were some issues this past season and for a well-oiled machine like AGT that just wasn’t going to work going into next year,” one source close to the show told Deadline of the increasing friction between Union and the executive producers of the Simon Cowell-created series.

That’s a far cry from NBC and producer Fremantle’s on-the-record statement of November 26, which tried to put a sanguine spin on things — emphasis on “tried,” by the way. “America’s Got Talent has a long history of inclusivity and diversity in both our talent and the acts championed by the show, the net and the company said. 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.”

Seriously enough in Dwyane Wade’s view to fire the messenger but not deal with the message, it seems. Just ask Nick Cannon …

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