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American actress Gabrielle Union has reportedly filed a discrimination complaint against America’s Got Talent producers.
The actress apparently filed the discrimination complaint against the producers claiming that NBC chief Paul Telegdy threatened her over whistle-blowing.
She also claimed she was fired from the talent search show because she attempted to report issues of racism and sexism on set.
According to Variety, the actress filed the complaint with California’s department of fair employment and housing (DFEH).
Gabrielle allegedly claimed she experienced discrimination, harassment and retaliation while working as a judge on season 14 of the show last year.
The actress’s lawyer told the publication, in reference to the company’s recent statement about the George Floyd protests, “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’.”
In reports by Forbes, it is also alleged that Gabrielle was told that some of the hairstyles she wore for shooting were “too black,” and she was labelled as “difficult” by producer Simon Cowell because she asked him not to smoke indoors and raised concerns about a culture of racism on set.
However, NBC issued a statement denying that no-one threatened the actress and emphasised that the results of the outside investigation found “an overarching culture of diversity on the show”.
The company has previously explained that Gabrielle’s contract wasn’t renewed because they wanted to “refresh” the judging panel.