Terry Crews The Latest to Offer Opinions on Diversity and Racism Claims on America's Got Talent
The NBC show, America's Got Talent, has been under fire since the end of the last year, following the firing of Gabrielle Union, a former panel judge, and her subsequent remarks that the show's producers and guest judges were providing a discriminatory and racist environment. Despite meeting with the show's producers to voice her concerns after she was fired, the actress has lawyered up and is heading towards a full-blown trial with the network. Since then, though, others that have appeared on the show have had a chance to give their own opinions about the environment, including, now, host Terry Crews.
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Julianne Hough Provides Opinion, While Directly Avoiding Controversy
Up until this point, the subsequent people who had been asked to give their opinions were former judges, Heidi Klum and Julianne Hough. Both incidentally white. However, Hough was let go along with Union after both only spent one season as judges on the show.
For Hough, though, she offered praise for the NBC network in how she was treated while on the show, while also stating that she was excited to be working with them in the future. Hough starred in their Christmas special that aired only a short time after the controversy broke.
"There [are] so many projects that I’m doing with NBC that I’m really excited about,” she said to People Now, avoiding the real problem. “There [are] lots of things out of our control, and so as long as I stay authentic in who I am and everybody else involved also stays connected to who they are, that’s all that matters, and not trying to please or have a perception of what you think people want to hear, and just staying true."
Klum Claims That She Had an Amazing Experience While On the Show
Klum also provided a positive tone regarding her time as a judge on AGT, although, she acknowledged that everyone's experiences are different. "I've only had an amazing experience. I can't speak for (Union). I didn't experience the same thing," she said. "To me, everyone treats you with the utmost respect. I’ve never seen anything that was weird or hurtful."
And now, Terry Crews, the host of the show, who happens to be African-American, has broken his silence on the issue and has come to defend AGT and it's executive producers. Crews was asked about the alleged toxic culture and racism that was perceived from Union's exit, to which he responded with a very different answer.
Terry Crews Says 'It Was The Best Experience I Ever Had In My Entire Life'
Crews spoke to Us Weekly to give his take on the controversy. "It just was not my experience,” he told Us Weekly. “It was the best experience I ever had in my entire life. When they talk about diversity, there was every bit of diversity on set, everywhere,” he claimed. “I have never been in a more diverse place in 20 years of entertainment, so what can I say."
The host did send a tweet Union's way after she was fired from the show, stating that she will be truly missed as a judge. "You’re the best, Gabrielle! You will be missed!" he said.
Investigation into NBC and AGT to Conclude at the End of January
It's currently unknown what pieces of evidence are being investigated at the moment, but the NBC Entertainment chief, Paul Telegdy, released a statement, sharing a timeline for when he expected the investigation to be completed, citing the end of January as the target date. The executive also promised 'new practices, if necessary' should the investigation lead to findings that corroborated Union's claims of alleged discriminatory practices and systemic racism on the set of the show.
More developments are sure to come following the announcements at the end of this month.
