Gabrielle Union is taking issues a step additional together with her demand for change at NBC following her termination from America’s Bought Expertise. The actress filed a harassment grievance in opposition to the community, the manufacturing firm and longtime host, Simon Cowell. Union famously accused Cowell of making a poisonous atmosphere for her and others. She named her former co-host, Julianne Hough, within the swimsuit – alleging that NBC has a historical past of hiring expertise identified for previous racist habits and cites Hough dressing in blackface for Halloween for example.
A recap of Julianne Hough’s blackface offense
Hough was criticized after dressing as Loopy Eyes, An African American character from the favored Netflix collection Orange Is The New Black for Halloween in 2013. Donned in an orange jumpsuit, Hough wore make-up that was a number of shades darker to try to mimic the character. She additionally tried to repeat the identical pure coiffure as the tv character. She issued an apology after the swift backlash.
Associated: Donald Trump, Julianne Hough, and Different Celebrities Accused of Being Prejudiced
“I’m an enormous fan of the present ‘Orange is the New black,’ actress Uzo Aduba, and the character she has created. It definitely was by no means my intention to be disrespectful or demeaning to anybody in any method. I understand my costume damage and offended folks and I actually apologize,” a then 25-year-old Hough wrote on Twitter.
Hough apologized for a second time in 2015 throughout an interview with Attract Journal. “Ignorance is usually not bliss. I actually had no concept what I used to be doing, and it was all out of enjoyable and respect for the character,” she mentioned. “I don’t even know the right way to discuss it as a result of it’s such a delicate matter. It makes me so unhappy to assume that I used to be that dumb. I realized a giant lesson.”
Gabrielle Union says NBC has a historical past of hiring expertise accused of racist habits, together with Julianne Hough
Union is alleging in her swimsuit that after witnessing habits she deemed racist and misogynistic, she filed a grievance with executives that fell on loss of life ears. Because of her complaints, Union says she was deemed “intimidating” and fired.
She says that NBC has a historical past of hiring celebrities with a racist previous, together with Hough, who she labored alongside at America’s Bought Expertise. She cites Hough’s blackface offense for example and believes NBC deliberately employed Hough figuring out of the incident.
In line with paperwork obtained by The Blast, Union’s swimsuit says of Hough’s hiring:
Producers decided to rent Union as a choose on AGT whereas concurrently hiring Hough, a two-time skilled champion of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars who had lately gone by a broadly publicized scandal for personally showing in blackface. Hough apologized in response to the general public uproar that she brought about. Combining somebody who so overtly wore blackface (Hough) with somebody who’s black and usually advocates on behalf of minorities (Union) ought to have a minimum of alerted Telegdy that this might trigger Union to expertise some trepidation or concern about being unprotected from racially insensitive people whereas working as a choose on AGT.
Union is requesting financial compensation in an unspecified quantity, in addition to demanding that adjustments are made at NBCUniversal. Hough was additionally fired on the time of Union’s termination after only one season as a choose.
