Why Terry Crews Apologized to Gabrielle Union

Terry Crews has issued an apology to Gabrielle Union. It is in the wake of her firing from America’s Got Talent.

Terry took to Twitter to post a lengthy message in addressing his ‘privilege’. Towards the end, Terry addressed Gabrielle Union. He wants to make further amends with the former judge.

Terry began with addressing the death of George Floyd and how it forced him to be a better human being.

He continues saying whites have privilege in the society that already has a built-in systemic racism. Terry says it has been proven time and again by the murder of unarmed men and women.

He continued acknowledging that he is a privileged man in a society where sexism also exists. ‘This privilege carries over into my community as a Black man in relationship with Black women,’ Terry writes.

Crews further stated that it is in this privilege that he wants to make further amends with Black women. And in particular he names Gabrielle for not recognizing his privilege in the workplace.

Terry further states that if we want to make further changes and move forward, we must do the work needed to heal relationships. ‘To whom much is given, much is required. I have a huge responsibility —and I vow to honor it,’ Crews writes.

Terry apologized to Gabrielle back in January via a series of tweets on Twitter.

In the thread, Terry apologized to Gabrielle for somehow invalidating her experience with racism and sexism, in the workplace.

Crews had previously defended AGT as the most diverse place he was a part of in 20 years of entertainment.

Gabrielle was a part of the 14th season of AGT which aired last year. She came in as a judge along with DTWS personality Julianne Hough. None of them were called along for the next season.

The actress filed a harassment complaint against NBC and Simon Cowell. Gabrielle claims that she was shut out when she tried to report of racism.

Gabrielle’s lawyer claimed that Paul Telegdy tried to silence her from speaking out about racist actions that took place in AGT.

“When Gabrielle Union informed NBC of racially offensive conduct during the taping of America’s Got Talent, NBC did not “stand” with her in “outrage at acts of racism.”‘ lawyer Bryan Freedman began in a statement posted on Twitter. 

Amid the protests of Black Lives Matter, Gabrielle reveals in May that she had been fired from the show last year. She revealed in an interview with Variety that she was compelled to report against the racist jokes Jay Leno made. But she says she was fired when Gabrielle tried to speak about it.

Union has filed complaints against NBC and SImon Cowell production companies. It was filed on Thursday with California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

AGT has previously denied many allegations by Gabrielle Union claiming they practice diversity demonstrated of all cultures.

But Freedman’s statement continued: ‘Instead, NBC did not care enough to either promptly investigate Ms. Union’s complaints or even ask HR to get involved.”

He explains that instead they stood against her and directed its outrage at Gabrielle. Freedman continues saying Paul Telegdy, Chairman of NBC Entertainment, actually threatened Union in an attempt to silence her from telling the truth about racist actions that took place on the show.

He explains that there is no place for such racial injustice in the workplace. Freedman said it is going to take more than just a tweet from NBC to assure us that there will not be racial injustice in their work environment.

NBC claimed to stand with outrage with what happened due to racism in the US demonstrations based on color. Freedman’s complaint comes after this.

Nationwide protests against racism, comes after the death of George Floyd in the hands of white police officers. An officer knelt on Floyd’s neck for several minutes leading to his death.

Gabrielle was offered a position as the judge of AGT in 2019. ‘I signed up for the experience of being a part of a show that hails itself as the biggest stage in the world,” Union told Variety.

The higher authorities claimed that her complaints had nothing to do with her getting fired from the show. But Gabrielle reveals that her problems began from day one. She saw Simon Cowell smoking on the set and she wasn’t very pleased. Gabrielle is allergic to cigarette smoke since she was a little girl, which led her to be sick even then.

‘I couldn’t escape. I ended up staying sick for two months straight. It was a cold that lingered and turned into bronchitis because I couldn’t shake it. It impacted my voice, which affects my ability to do my job,’ Union said. 

Gabrielle further states that bringing up Cowell’s smoking was a bad choice for her.

She told Variety that when you come to the set, you literally meet with the most toxic environment to work in. And it is made toxic by the most powerful men present there.

The producers told her that there were complaints about Cowell’s smoking in the past, but nothing changed.

Gabrielle revealed that after her complaint, Cowell stopped smoking and this issue was not raised again. Cowell started smoking outdoors after learning about her complaints because he did not want to make anyone uncomfortable.

After several weeks, a guest judge, Jay Leno came on sets. He cracked a joke that Cowell’s pets look like food items found on the menu of a Korean restaurant.

Gabrielle reveals that she admires him but was not prepared for his joke. ‘My first big interview in this industry, the first person who allowed me to come on their talk show, was Jay Leno. I’ve always held him in high regard, but I was not prepared for his joke,’ Union said. 

The producers informed that they would edit that part out.

Gabrielle protested saying it is something we experienced. There isn’t an edit button in her brain or her soul, she further explained.

She had previously said that her producers had told her the way she dresses and her hairstyles were ‘too black’. Gabrielle also reveals that equal attention is not given to all contestants in terms of hair and makeup. She points out that it is a recurring problem for minorities.

In response to the story, NBC, Fremantle, and Syco, which produce America’s Got Talent, released a statement saying they took Union’s concerns seriously and launched an outside investigation with more than 30 interviews.