Making It Official.
Gabrielle Union has filed a harassment, discrimination, and retaliation complaint with California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing stemming from her 1-year stint as a host on ‘America’s Got Talent.’ While Union has not filed in court, many suspect the complaint with the state agency is a major step toward a lawsuit or arbitration.
The 38-page complaint names Simon Cowell, Cowell’s production company Syco Entertainment, Fremantle Productions North America, and NBC Universal as defendants. It reiterates examples of ‘AGT’s toxic culture highlighted by Union in recent months, including racist jokes from guest Jay Leno, blackface performers, racial bias in the hair and makeup rooms, Cowell’s habit of smoking indoors, and complaints not being properly transferred to HR.
The complaint goes on to claim that NBC Entertainment chairman Paul Teledgy intervened in NBC’s internal investigation of her claims in an effort to “silence and intimidate her.” In particular, it claims Telegy disregarded NBC’s Codes of Conduct and threatened Union through her CAA agent for speaking out.
The complaint paints a damning picture of the investigation NBC conducted into the misconduct. It states that the investigator NBC hired spent a significant amount of time on vacation in Portugal during the investigation and only conducted one in-person interview for the probe, which was with Union herself. It also claims that the investigator admitted to changing her preliminary findings at the direction of NBC and Fremantle Productions.
Union is represented by heavyweight Hollywood lawyer Bryan Freedman, who helped Megyn Kelly receive a multimillion-dollar payout after her 2018 exit from NBC.
NBC Universal responded in a statement that “The allegation that anyone involved in this process threatened Ms. Union is categorically untrue.” They added that they took Union’s concerns seriously and remain committed to creating an inclusive and supportive working environment where people of all backgrounds are treated with respect.
What do you think Gabrielle’s next legal move is?