NBC’s toxic culture isn’t just part of its newsrooms. It extends all the way to the variety show that drew in 10 million viewers this season: America’s Got Talent.
Remember that NBC is the same network that quashed the Harvey Weinstein story, employed alleged sexual predator Matt Lauer, and, when it launched an internal investigation, cleared itself of having a culture of sexual harassment.
Yet according to a new report, NBC executives mistreated the only female judges on America’s Got Talent, Gabrielle Union and Julianne Hough, who both happened to leave the show after this season.
At the end of its 14th season, America’s Got Talent opted not to renew contracts for Union and Hough, and this might be because both judges were unhappy with their treatment. Variety reports:
Union reportedly requested that producers report a racially insensitive comment by Jay Leno to human resources, and although it never made it on air, it also never made it to HR.
“However, the Leno incident is one of several examples of what insiders called a toxic culture at the show,” Variety reports.
Hough denied that she had had a bad experience on the show, though she might have an ulterior motive for keeping mum: She’s starring in two upcoming NBC shows. As for Union, a black woman, the show scrutinized her even further:
This week, former America’s Got Talent judge Howard Stern said the accusations were consistent with what he knows from being on the show. When Simon Cowell picks judges, Stern said:
On Wednesday, Union tweeted that she had met with NBC executives to resolve the issue. “We had a lengthy 5-hour, and what I thought to be, productive meeting yesterday,” she said. “I was able to, again, express my unfiltered truth. I led with transparency and my desire and hope for real change.”
Only now is NBC scrambling to recover its image. But if its past efforts are any indication, it will only do the bare minimum to avoid a public relations nightmare. It still needs a real change.
