I wish I didn’t have to write this post, but I do. In November, Gabrielle Union was let go from her contract after only one season as a judge on America’s Got Talent. We learned simultaneously that Gabrielle had been very vocal about the toxic environment working on the show, most of which boiled down to racism and sexism. In the wake of Gabrielle’s dismissal, her AGT co-workers remained mum, including Terry Crews, the show’s host, who was held up by WOC and his co-workers when he came forward with his sexual assault. One of the first to defend Terry in his time of need was Gabrielle. And she continued her support after he testified in front of Congress.
Last week, Terry broke his silence on the matter of Gabrielle’s claims against AGT. He appeared on Today, when he was asked about the situation and Terry took the opportunity to publicly defend AGT.
.@TerryCrews speaks out about Gabrielle Union leaving "America's Got Talent," after her claims of a toxic work environment.
"I can't speak for sexism…but I can speak on any racism comments. That was never my experience," he says. pic.twitter.com/XEoxn7gvWP
— 3rd Hour of TODAY (@3rdHourTODAY) January 23, 2020
In that second clip. Terry said that not only did he not experience racism, but that AGT is one of the most diverse environments in which he’s ever worked. Terry said when he wondered if he should address this, he asked his wife who supposedly said that because Gabrielle hasn’t spoken publicly about the AGT dismissal, why should Terry? Whether Rebecca’s advice was solid is not the point, the point is that the person he should have consulted in the first place was Gabrielle. If he truly supported her, he should have come up with a game plan with her. Even if that plan was to ask the Today producers not to bring up the investigation at NBC as it is still on going.
But, as Terry told us in those clips above, he hasn’t reached out to Gabrielle once since her dismissal so this is the way Terry played his hand. And it did not go over well, especially with Gabrielle. In response to a show of support on twitter, Gabrielle sent out this series of tweets:
Thank u! Cuz girlllllll 😐 Truth telling, wanting change & having MULTIPLE witnesses who bravely came forward to let EVERYONE know I didn't lie or exaggerate, really exposes those who enthusiastically will throw you under the bus, forgetting quickly who stepped up 4 THEIR truth. https://t.co/X1uooWTpmK
— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) January 24, 2020
Why anyone would gleefully get up on TV and tell lies that NO ONE disputed… But we already know. https://t.co/8MAfmzSgmI
— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) January 24, 2020
Can someone please ask abt what happens to all that diversity folks are talking about BEHIND THE SCENES. Like, legit… where the hell is all that diversity in the production though homie? In the decision making ranks who control the fate of the diversity in front of the camera?
— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) January 24, 2020
Maaaaaan… We all agreed to let the investigation be completed before speaking but if we doing this… ohhhhh baby let's gooooooooooo!
— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) January 24, 2020
Let's also talk about where the diversity is in the hair & makeup dept for contestants that DOES NOT reflect all that diversity that hits the stage. Let's Google the exec's that run the show & ask follow up ?? about THAT egregious lack of diversity. Let's discuss the facts https://t.co/w40qrBDac1
— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) January 24, 2020
A lot of people weighed in to defend Gabrielle. Many reminded Terry of Gabrielle’s support from the start and that he should respond in kind. That’s when Terry responded with a series of cryptic and woefully ill-advised tweets:
“I’m a hog.
You’re a chicken.
Just ‘cuz you gave me eggs—
Don’t mean I owe you bacon.”
– Ancient Flint Michigan proverb
— terry crews (@terrycrews) January 27, 2020
And when that went over like a lead balloon, he followed up with this:
There is only one woman one earth I have to please. Her name is Rebecca.
Not my mother, my sister, my daughters or co-workers. I will let their husbands/ boyfriends/ partners take care of them.
Rebecca gives me WINGS
— terry crews (@terrycrews) January 27, 2020
I still support Terry in his crusade against sexual assault. I definitely support Gabrielle in her crusade to make NBC a better work environment, even after they let her go. I hope Terry will listen to everyone, not just his wife, on this. He’s misspoken before, like when he made very hurtful comments about LBGTQ parents. At first, he doubled down on those comments as well, but he eventually listened and learned and apologized for the pain he’d inflicted. So there’s hope that maybe he will take a second look at how hurtful his comments and actions have been.
— Karen Civil 🇭🇹 (@KarenCivil) January 27, 2020
Photo credit: Twitter and WENN Photos
What an absolute jerk. 🤬
Someone on twitter said he looked like a chewed up tootsie roll and now I can’t unsee it.
It’s interesting that he needed to be believed when he spoke of his assault (as he should have!), but doesn’t feel the need to offer that same support to others.
Beyond the worst human being. I believe Gabrielle. Her version of events rings too true, Simon Cowel things women are decoration and treats them that way. Crews is a total jerk. Especially after she went to bat to support him when he made assault allegations. This show is canceled to me forever.
This guy is the worst human being? Because he disagrees with a former coworker o their work environment. Okay.
Swing and a miss! Here’s the real deal: when Terry Crews went public with his sexual assault at the hands of another, more powerful man, black women had his back. Notably, Gabrielle Union was vocal in her support of Terry Crews. She wasn’t there to witness the assault, she could easily have said something like, “Being assaulted by [assailant] hasn’t been my experience,” she could have blown it all off, but no. She stepped up for him. She supported him. And he was SO GRATEFUL for it. But, somehow, not grateful enough to respond in kind when she needed support.
It would have cost him nothing, literally nothing, to extend his “that was never my experience” statement with an acknowledgement that while he wasn’t treated that way by AGT, he supports Gabrielle’s fight against racism and sexism.
@Wendy – I couldn’t agree more with what you said. So disappointing. As is to use his wife in the end to refrain from dealing with the real issue of his response and twist this into something that it isn’t.
Can I have Male Privilege for 500, Alex?
How about Stepping and Fetching for 800?
The worst part? He didn’t just say he never experienced racism. He didn’t just not support Gabrielle. He actually bragged on the diversity of the show! He promoted it as the most diverse place he’s ever work. That is not only not supporting Gabrielle, it is slapping her and her active support in the face.
Gabrielle is going to need more wine to put up with this disrespect.
This reminds me of a great quote that I saw on a cocktail napkin:
“I would give up wine, but I am afraid I would have to replace it with murder.” XO
She posted a photo of her and her husband on instagram. Her hubby was all smiley, and she was giving serious model face. Her caption was something like, “Look at us, in the same place at the same moment but having different experiences”.
It was such a well played comment, IMO.
So there’s only an issue if something impacts his life personally in a negative way, otherwise it’s all good out there hmm? What a douche.
I was just thinking the same thing! He was SO vocal and wanted to be heard & seen when he was the victim. Now he’s almost dismissive of Gabrielle’s claims.
Exactly! This is so gross. Gabrielle deserves better from him, or nothing… which would have been better.
The system forces us to turn on each other by convincing us that life’s a zero sum game, there’s room for only one of us at the top etc. Terry’s response is disappointing but I can imagine he doesn’t want to jeopardize his job. Who knows how many alternatives he has?
If that was his thinking, he still made the wrong decision. It is a bad career choice to alienate the demographic that made you. Especially when said demographic is incredibly vocal and engaged. When AGT dumps him (which they will, because it won’t be worth the headache) what is he going to do?
The smart career move here would have been silence. When asked he should have said “My understanding is that we aren’t allowed to discuss it until the investigation is complete” or “That hasn’t been my experience on the show, but Gaby is a great woman and co-worker and I want to support her in any way that I can.”
I listened to his interview with Marc Maron, and that’s just not his mindset: In his mind, Terry Crewes, and only Terry Crewes, made Terry Crewes. He doesn’t feel like he owes anyone anything except his wife and children. In the context of his life (abusive father; using a system that abused his body to escape post-auto Flint, MI; entering an equally f-ed up industry and finding ways to navigate it that aren’t soul destroying), I can see where his mindset comes from, but it’s still so painful to watch in action.
He’s also the type to not speak in depth about the positive things that others do for him unless there’s an immediate benefit to him for doing so (ie—over-hyping the diversity of AGT, which helps him keep his job), but will harp at length on the wrongs that have been done to him, and he does it all with a smile and laugh, so he can’t also be accused of being “angry”. Just looking at it from a trauma informed perspective, he self-isolates and has created super strict boundaries around his life to exert the maximum amount of control over how things affect him. It’s really sad because while it strengthens TC, it leaves the rest of the community in the wind. It might work for him short-term, but I think he’s shooting himself in the foot for not even considering what this costs all of us who speak up about both overt and subtle racism, sexism, ableism, etc.
You had one job, Terry. BW had your back and this is the thanks we get. He could have easily said nothing “It’s an ongoing investigation so I really can’t comment.” or something. Gotta keep those paychecks coming! Goes back to what I said before of the ability of black men to be the oppressed and the oppressor.
It’s not just keeping the paychecks going though. He could have done that by keeping his mouth shut. He had to publicly disrespect Gabrielle Union, a fellow survivor who has had HIS worthless back. FUCK HIM
@Bluesky — YES to black men being oppressed oppressors. I think it’s what kills me so much when discussing intersectionality; literally no one has our backs, even though we show up for them. Add to that the hostility and violence that queer and trans women face, and it feels like true equality is but a dream.
He’s looking out for self and eager to please his white bosses. Throwing Gabby under the bus to solidify and secure his spot on the show and most of all, his money. So so sad.
Time and time again it’s proven that black women don’t matter. It’s even more hurtful when this idea is perpetuated by black men.
Wow. His tweets were unexpectedly awful.
And this is the same guy who stood up for Gina Rodriguez after she said the N-word…. Unbelievable!
This is a very bad look fore Terry Crews. Regardless of his feelings on the matter he should have said nothing or shown support for Gabrielle as a human being even if he disagreed with her accusations. Now he just looks like somebody piling on. The race factors make it look even worse
One thing a black woman can always count on, is a black man not to support her. That’s right I said what I said.
Except there were other black men who were supporting Gabrielle Union. Why are we still pitching these blanket statements about one another in 2020?
If I was so wrong we wouldn’t have this to discuss would we? Black men expect support from Black women no matter what they’re doing however, Black women have never enjoyed that type of support in return. She has a clear case with facts that support her and if Terry isn’t aware of that he shouldn’t have spoken on the issue. I’m glad for the black men who did support her, but I’m not blind to what tends to happen in these cases. I think Terry’s responses above were telling. What was also telling was the support he got from black women regarding some of his past issues which he didn’t think about at all when he was responding to her. THAT is why I made my statement above.
@HK9 AND THIS
THIS
+1,000. Straight black men are the white men of the Black community.
@Sarah +1,000 PERFECT description.
I literally just hollered! This is sooo true!
WoW ! Can’t argue with that one.
You know it.
If you are going to make blanket statements like that, you will have to also say that the other thing a Black woman can count is other Black women not supporting her. R. Kelly anyone? The biggest critics of Black women coming forward about discrimination and sexual violence are other Black women.
It is exhausting, and it makes me sick. But I’m not willing to reduce us all to our lowest common denominator. Terry Crews is a hypocrite and a coward, but for every Terry Crews, I know John Legend and a Common. IJS
When they act right, I’ll fold up my blanket statement and put it back. Until then, I stand by my statement. That tweet he made about ‘I’m a hog you’re a chicken..’ that was straight up disrespectful and he went out of his way to make this worse than it needed to be. We’re not talking about R. Kelly today. Today, we’re talking about Terry and his disrespectful, unsupportive, disappointing, no sense having ass.
Ain’t that the truth..Saf but true.We only got ourselves and the sooner we aknowledge it the better.
I just dont understand why we are saying he has hurt Gabrielle for saying that something she experienced was not his experience.
I dont get why that is being branded as being disloyal.
So true, Nifa.
That is extremely disappointing, while no one is perfect, I thought Terry was at least a decent guy. I hope he really reconsider his comments here, and listens to Gabrielle when she’s talking about what she experienced. If that was not his experience, fine, but he shouldn’t be dismissive of hers.
What a douche!!!!!!!!
Sometimes I just feel exhausted for black women thinking about how often they’re disappointed by everyone around them. I can’t even imagine what it must feel like to have to walk in their shoes every day.
It really is heartbreaking how much the world hates us. We have to uplift each other constantly.
Never trust a coworker to help you in a time of need when their job is in the line. I learned this just the other week myself.
This goes much deeper than that.?
But this is a good lesson too. People will disappoint you, especially in the work place. You can’t count on anyone to have your back, even when you expect them to.
That hog and chicken analogy was the worst.
He’s just a huge disappointment. He could have kept it quiet instead of so blatantly kissing his employers asses for some bonus or raise.
Gabby didn’t deserve this. And I LOVE how she speaks her mind.
Well. I feel like watching Being Mary Jane again right now because that show is about a very strong and unapologetic black woman, masterfully played by Ms. Union. fun fact : another show /network that TRIED to run her over and she still won!!
Truly! If nothing else, he could have just remained silent. He really messed up this time. You have to know which side your bread is buttered on, and he threw a woman under the bus who is just as beloved as he *was* by the demographics that supported him. He will see some damage to his career over this madness!
Welp! I hope Rebecca can pay your bills because I’m certainly not supporting any of your projects ever again, you disloyal jerk!
I’m getting really sick of people who completely dismiss the experiences of others because they themselves supposedly haven’t shared the same experience. Just because it hasn’t happened to them personally doesn’t make the other person a liar. He clearly wants to keep his job and is more than willing to throw Gabrielle under the bus in order to do so. What an ass.
So disappointed in him, but as a black woman…I’m not surprised. Hope they treat you well for dancing like this Terry.
It’s funny I’m not disappointed in him b/c of what he said. I’m disappointed to see such a huge ego at play. I knew he was a shucker and jiver but this is at a new level.
Disappointed but not surprised. This is a tale as old as time. Black women support black men and when WE need support they throw us under the bus. Malcolm X’s quote is STILL relevant:
“The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman. “
@VV, girl, you made me sob out loud. The fact that what Brother Malcolm said over 50 years ago is still JUST AS RELEVANT TODAY, is beyond heart-breaking.
Girl…I know…it’s accurate and so so discouraging.
Damn. So devastatingly accurate!
Wow! That statement is so powerful!!!!!! It says so much!
For those saying what other choice did he have? His other choice was to say NOTHING. His wife told him to say nothing. Legit the bare minimum would be-there’s a ongoing investigation and I don’t feel comfortable speaking for Gabrielle and her experience. That’s it.
Also-if you respect/love your wife you don’t use her as a human shield against criticism for when YOU have messed up. Rebecca isn’t there to make up for your dummy comments.
Why would any woman work professionally with him now? This was a professional issue and he turned it into a personal one by saying the only woman he had to please was his wife. Such an idiot response. He could have simply kept his mouth shut as his wife even advised him to do. Then he didn’t, and still drug her into the mess. It’s absolutely baffling.
I’m so torn on this. This was an impossible question for him to answer. He should’ve given a non-answer. But I think his ego got in the way and here we are with this. He’s still employed with NBC so he couldn’t side against them. He never said Gabrielle didn’t experience what she experienced. He said it wasn’t his experience and that the show was very diverse. The latter could merely mean what we see on camera or what he sees. It’s a weak response but again, his ego is looking mighty huge here. There’s also some Stepping and Fetching (as said up thread) here as well – I’m not posting bail for him.
Frankly, Crews has more to lose than Gabrielle does. As a black actor, he’s crossed over more successfully than Union. And he still works for NBC. In reading other sites, many commenters only know Union from that cheer leading movie. They didn’t know she had a successful TV series on BET. They only see D-Wade’s wife. The comments were really harsh and many racist (so sad).
It’s a precarious position that Crews thought he could smartly wiggle around. He failed.
Is anyone going to mention Tyra Banks’ comment??? She hosted for 2 years and said she didn’t know the culture enough to speak on it. LOL. Okay Tyra. I see you.
Terry Crews refuses to support the Black woman who stood up for him in his time of need. He tells the world that the only woman he has to please isn’t his mother or sisters but the White woman he’s married to. WHAT A SHOCK!
Rebecca Crews is black. Which makes it worse IMO. That he is willing to throw black women under the bus while being married to one.
@That’s news to me. I was told she was a White woman. Thanks for setting me straight. Then he should have listened to his wife and shut his fool mouth up. He didn’t have to disrespect Gabrielle like that.
@Kerwood someone probably assumed she was white because she is very light skin and has a short platinum blonde haircut.
But yes – he should have listened to the black woman in his home who told his a$$ to be quiet.
@Valiantly Varnished, it actually does make it worse because he should know what it’s like to be a Black woman in this world from his wife. So for him to throw Gabrielle under the bus like that when he KNOWS the stakes, make me even sadder. And angrier.
I always thought he was a bit of a clown but I respected his courage in coming out as an abuse victim/survivor. Shame on him for this.
She’s biracial (white father, black mother).
I thought she was white too.
It’s all well and good if it wasn’t his experience, but he didn’t need to say that. In doing so, it sounds like he’s denying what Gabrielle is claiming. He could’ve easily said he can’t comment, or even “it wasn’t my experience, but I fully understand that I can’t speak to everyone’s experience.”
Oh, Terry.
FU Terry. Support black women dude.
This was really disappointing.
Terry Crews should have said nothing but he doesn’t owe Gabrielle Union anything. She is in a much better position financially to blow up her work life than Terry Crews. She’s not owed support and you can’t get it by using public opinion to disparage someone.
This is ridiculous, it’s his job. How many of us would piss off our employers just because an (extremely rich) coworker wanted to make a statement at a job they didn’t need. Gabrielle Union and her husband are worth a combined 140 million dollars compared to Terry Crew’s 20million. Would you drop your bag for someone who was sitting pretty like that?
It’s not his main job, though. He will not lose his livelihood by supporting her. He’s a main cast member of Brooklyn 99, which is still on the air. It would have cost him nothing to keep his mouth shut altogether and he couldn’t do it. Not only that, he decided to dig his heels in and be even MORE gross by implying that she’s lying with his “It’s the best most diverse job ever” garbage.
Brooklyn 99 got cancelled before it was picked up by NBC and like most sitcoms only films for part of the year. I wouldn’t view that as steady work. He could have easily have lost his job for supporting her as AGT has no problem shuffling out people on a regular basis. He probably wanted to keep his well-paid, not terribly difficult hosting job. I agree that he should have said nothing though, that was the smarter and easier option.
Soooo, there’s an economic cap on supporting co-workers dealing with racism and sexism?
I don’t know why you or Crews are talking about what is owed. Perhaps Union thought they were friends, or at least friendly colleagues, and this idea of her support for him being transactional and a debt she was going to call in is somewhat offensive.
She didn’t ask for anything from him, he’s the one who came out batting for AGT.
People shouldn’t be expected to put their jobs on the line for a friendly colleague especially for a colleague who doesn’t need the job. Gabrielle Union shouldn’t have expected his support just because. It is completely okay to prioritize your livelihood over coworkers.
@Chimney I don’t think that most people are upset that he didn’t put his job on the line to support her, but that he went out of his way to speak out AGAINST her when there was no need to. This wasn’t a passive betrayal, it was an active one. This isn’t him prioritizing his livelihood over his coworker’s, it is him being a prick for no reason.
But also, yeah he probably should have spoken out even if it put his job on the line.
Gabrielle has never publicly asked for or indicated an expectation that Terry Crewes would support her in her dispute with NBC. I do think that she didn’t expect him to run his mouth in an interview in such a way that she comes off like she’s lying or exaggerating. Once again for everyone in the back SHUTTING UP IS FREE!
OMG after someone above mentioned Tyra Banks I read her comments. That is a master class on how to talk and say nothing. Her 2 years wasn’t long enough to experience the culture but she admires Gabby’s pain. That is how you get out of stirring up drama if you don’t want to be involved Terry. A statement of support would have been better but she at least didn’t go all in on a colleague.-
His response is obnoxious especially with that whole “I have a wife, find another man to save you” BS. What a pile of misogynistic cr-p that totally misses the point. Instead of fishing for a savior maybe, just maybe, she thought a friend she backed up when he shared his own experience of abuse might just have her back, or at the very least stay quiet and not publicly minimize what she experienced. I don’t even care if he retracts and backtracks, it will just be PR nonsense. His initial statements and his defense of them tell us everything we need to know about what sort of an “ally” he is.
All this heat for Terry Crews but no actual heat for AGT, Jay Leno and Simon Cowell who were the ones accused of racism and discrimination by GU in the first place? Completely transparent.
Hopefully it is understood that they are awful. Especially Simon “my ego could eat a small city” Cowel”
@Chimney Ummm no. AGT, Leno and Cowell have ALL been discussed on this site before. This particular post is about TERRY.
I was not talking about this site specifically., the coverage here has been good. I don’t know about on your end but none of my Google news results for Jay Leno or Simon Cowell even mention this controversy. All of the talk on twitter is about how Terry Crews is letting down the team too.
It’s ridiculous that none of the people perpetuating this toxic work environment are even on the hook for this. It’s all about whether black men support black women.
When I read about this yesterday one of the things that kept coming up for me was how pervasive this disregard for WOC’s, particulary Black women’s, experiences with racism, sexism, and other isms in spaces with our own communities. I’ve personally experienced this in Academia and in community organizing spaces. Now I am not trying to say that there are no men of color out there that support their POC sisters because I know they do exist. However, historically this has been a trend where women will put their bodies, reputations, and souls on the line for the men in our communities without being reciprocated. Whether Terry experienced or noticed the racism at AGT is not the point, his experience can be vastly different from Gabrielle’s for all we know. The point is that here is a Black woman that publicly supported and BELIEVED his account of sexual assault and he couldn’t be bothered to show her the same level of support or consideration. End of rant, thank you for attending my Ted Talk.
its not like he said that she’s a liar. He just that he didnt personally experience any of that. And whether or not that’s true or whether or not he saw how gabrielle was being treated, maybe he doesnt want to put his livelihood on the line.
Then be should have just stfu. Like his wife told him to.
And you don’t have to flat out call someone a liar to infer that they are. Which he did.
Agreed! He went for the kill shot when he could have just stayed quiet. Meanwhile it was nice of him to let his daughters and sisters know they are on their own. I wonder if said relatives let him know how awful he sounds.
cancelled
+1
I’m really disappointed in Terry. I really thought he was a good guy. He’s been in the public eye for so long, if he was worried about his job, he should have just have said no comment. But what he said disputed what Gabby said, making her look like a liar. And he personally might not have experienced racism. But even though he is a black man, he will still be treated better by white people than a black woman. Because a man will not bother another man, even if it’s a minority man, like they would a woman. Racially or sexually imo. Men always stick up for other men before they stick up for another woman. He might be a minority member of the old boy’s club but he’s still a member. And men still make up the majority of authority positions. So they’re not going to bother him like they would a minority woman. Plus, look at the size of him! My mixed husband is big, not like Terry, but people are intimidated by him. Plus, he does not have the hair issues that Gabrielle mentions like the pressure to wear more Caucasian styles so there’s less opportunity for him to be shown their prejudice. In my white opinion, he failed her not only as a woman but a member of her same race. He showed that siding w men is more important than siding with a woman of his own race. As a man, he does not know what women experience.
But he does, like our white men, think they know what we experience better than we do ourselves. He failed her in 2 aspects, gender AND ethnicity related. He chose to side with white men over black women imo. Double fail. He’s been in the business long enough to know how to sidestep a question without throwing Gabby under the bus.
The fact that he did not makes me agree with those saying he shucks and jives for white folks. And that’s really disappointing because I didn’t realize that before. And in my white woman opinion, he should be more loyal to his race and his women in his race than us white people. Because they have it a whole lot harder than white people do.
I’ve NEVA trucked with Terry Crews…and I don’t need nor want him defending Black Women…and he didn’t NEED to defend Gabrielle…what he did was even more insidious…he made it seem as if Gabby was lying…and that she’s just an “Angry Black Woman…” and he straight up LIED to push his punk a– narrative….
But that’s far too often…par for the course with Black men on this planet regarding Black Women…