Inside the ‘America’s Got Talent’ investigation

May 28, 2020

In this episode:

  •  NBC tells Page Six the results of an investigation into alleged racism on the set of its long-running show “America’s Got Talent.”
  • We’ll break down what the network uncovered. Chrissy Teigen and Alison Roman are moving on from their feud – so what’s next?
  • And J.Lo’s feeling blue about postponing her wedding to Alex Rodriguez.

      


Here’s a closer look at some of today’s stories:

America’s Got Talent finds no wrongdoing

"America's Got Talent" judges Howie Mandel, Gabrielle Union, Simon Cowell and Julianne Hough, and "AGT" host Terry Crews
“America’s Got Talent” judges Howie Mandel, Gabrielle Union, Simon Cowell and Julianne Hough, and “AGT” host Terry CrewsArt Streiber/NBC

NBC tells Page Six that an investigation into alleged racism on the TV show set of “America’s Got Talent” uncovered no wrongdoing.

A probe was launched by the network after former judge Gabrielle Union, 47, claimed in November last year that, among other things, show insiders complained that her hairstyles were “too black.” It was also reported that a young black contestant was removed from the show because it needed a performer that “America could get behind.”

On Wednesday — the same day that Variety published a lengthy interview with Union about her experience on the show — a rep for the network and the show’s producers told us that a lengthy investigation had cleared the network and its producers.

In a statement to Page Six the rep said, “When we heard Ms. Union had concerns about her time on the show, we took them extremely seriously.”

The rep indicated that, after the allegations surfaced, the network and producers — Fremantle and Syco — “immediately engaged an outside investigator who conducted more than 30 interviews to review the issues raised by Ms. Union.”

“While the investigation has demonstrated an overall culture of diversity, it has also highlighted some areas in which reporting processes could be improved,” the rep said.

But the rep added that the investigation has “revealed that no one associated with the show made any insensitive or derogatory remarks about Ms. Union’s appearance, and that neither race nor gender was a contributing factor in the advancement or elimination of contestants at any time.”

Alison Roman’s next move

Alison Roman
Alison RomanBravo

The food columnist is temporarily moving on from her post at the New York Times following her controversial comments about Chrissy Teigen and Marie Kondo.

“This was a huge shake-up for me both personally and professionally, and I’m still processing so much, but know that I’m working on it and thinking about it 24/7,” she wrote on Instagram on Tuesday. “The issues brought to light by this whole thing won’t be fixed overnight, and the healing process for many will be long, but I’m committed to doing the work to make it better.”

Her new venture? A newsletter, she says, for those who want to keep up with her recipes and food blogging.

“For the foreseeable future, you can find me in that newsletter I started 3 years ago and never sent out lol. There will be recipes, reader emails, recommendations, and discussions about things that I hope you will like or find helpful,” she announced, adding, “In lieu of the comments section or DMs, I encourage you to submit questions/comments/concerns to qcc@alisoneroman.com, the idea being to share some of them in the newsletter (I am learning ‘the comments section’ is not the best place for public discourse).”

J.Lo has wedding heartbreak

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez
Jennifer Lopez and Alex RodriguezGetty Images

Jennifer Lopez had to postpone her wedding to Alex Rodriguez amid the coronavirus pandemic – and she has mixed feelings about it.

“I’m a little heartbroken because we did have some great plans but I’m also like, you know what? God has a bigger plan so we just have to wait and see,” she said via video chat on the “Today Show” on Tuesday. “Maybe it’s going to be better. I have to believe that it will be.”

For now, J.Lo, 50, says she and A-Rod, 44, have put their plans on hold.

“There’s no planning right now. You just have to kind of wait and see how this all plays out,” she said. “It’s disappointing on one level, you know, after the Super Bowl and after [filming] “World of Dance” … I planned to take time off, which is what we’re doing kind of right now, but at the same time, you know, we had a lot of plans for this summer and this year but, everything’s kinda on hold right now.”

Catch up on all episodes of “We Hear” by subscribing to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes come out every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

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