Gabrielle Union alluded to her firing from NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” Monday morning at the launch of her holiday collection with New York and Company.
During a panel titled The Power of Inclusivity and the Women Leading The Charge, Union talked about speaking up and doing the right thing in her career.
“How many checks do I need?” she asked the crowd at LaDuree in SoHo. “This financial freedom, they’re shackles, masquerading as zeros in my bank account.”
Though she didn’t mention her firing directly, she said, “Don’t be the happy negro that does the bidding of the status quo because you’re afraid. It’s terrifying. There’s a solid chance you’ll lose your job… I speak from experience.”
Union has not formally addressed her exit or her grievances with the show, as exclusively reported by Variety and later Vulture. In late November, following Variety’s first report and a flood of support from celebrities and advocacy groups, Union expressed gratitude.
“So many tears, so much gratitude,” she tweeted at the time. “Just when you feel lost, adrift, alone… you got me up off the ground. Humbled and thankful, forever.”
NBCUniversal has engaged a third party to investigate accounts of racial insensitivity, labor code violations like Simon Cowell’s reported insistence on indoor smoking, as well as a hostile climate for “AGT”s women judges.
Union has retained litigator Bryan Freedman to advise her thought the process. Cowell has retained veteran Hollywood lawyer Larry Stein.