America’s Got Talent (AGT) host Terry Crews is under fire after tweeting that his wife is the only woman he’s worried about keeping happy following comments he made about Gabrielle Union’s exit from the show.
“There is only one woman one (sic) earth I have to please,” Crews wrote. “Her name is Rebecca. Not my mother, my sister, my daughters or co-workers. I will let their husbands / boyfriends / partners take care of them.
“Rebecca gives me WINGS,” the 51-year-old actor wrote.
Many people online criticized Crews for his comments.
Crews’ tweet comes days after Union responded to the AGT host’s comments about her exit from the show on Thursday.
During an interview on the third hour of the Today show, the Brooklyn Nine-Nine star said he never experienced any of the “toxic culture” Union reportedly did while working on the show.
“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,” he said. “That was never my experience … in fact, it was the most diverse place I have ever been in my 20 years of entertainment.”
“I have to say this, too. 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,” he said.
“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?” Crews said.
When he was asked if he had spoken to Union since her departure from AGT, Crews said: “I have not.”
“I haven’t reached out but I have not heard anything,” he said.
Union tweeted about the situation on Friday without mentioning Crews’ name.
“Truth telling, wanting change & having MULTIPLE witnesses who bravely came forward to let EVERYONE know I didn’t lie or exaggerate, really exposes those who enthusiastically will throw you under the bus, forgetting quickly who stepped up 4 THEIR truth,” she said in response to a fan.
“Why anyone would gleefully get up on TV and tell lies that NO ONE disputed… But we already know,” she wrote.
“Can someone please ask abt (sic) what happens to all that diversity folks are talking about BEHIND THE SCENES. Like, legit… where the hell is all that diversity in the production though homie? In the decision making ranks who control the fate of the diversity in front of the camera?” Union added.
“Maaaaaan… We all agreed to let the investigation be completed before speaking but if we doing this… ohhhhh baby let’s gooooooooooo!” Union tweeted, referencing the formal investigation by NBC looking into her claims of the “toxic culture” of the show, including allegations of racist jokes.
“Let’s also talk about where the diversity is in the hair & makeup dept for contestants that DOES NOT reflect all that diversity that hits the stage. Let’s Google the exec’s (sic) that run the show & ask follow up ?? about THAT egregious lack of diversity. Let’s discuss the facts,” she wrote.
In late November, it was announced that Union and Julianne Hough would not be returning to AGT next season. Days later, Variety published a report claiming there was a “toxic culture” on the set of AGT.
According to Variety’s report, Union had concerns over alleged offensive incidents that happened on set.
The report alleged both judges were subject to “excessive notes” about physical appearance and claimed that AGT had a culture of toxic, racist jokes.
Variety also quoted multiple unnamed sources saying Union was told several times that her hairstyles were “too black” for the competition show.
The article also claimed that Union had expressed concerns over an incident during auditions in which she believed a white male performer crossed a line in portraying people of colour.
On Dec. 1, a joint statement was released from NBC, FremantleMedia, which produces the show, and Cowell’s entertainment company Syco regarding Union.
“We remain committed to ensuring a respectful workplace for all employees and take very seriously any questions about workplace culture,” the group’s statement read.
“We are working with Ms. Union through her representatives to hear more about her concerns, following which we will take whatever next steps may be appropriate.”
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