Interest in the conversation was renewed after Union appeared on the Spotify podcast Jemele Hill Is Unbothered and the sports journalist asked her about Crews and his controversial comments amidst the Black Lives Matter movement.
“People hit me [up] all day long and are like, ‘What’s happening,'” Union says in response to Hill’s question about what’s going on with Terry Crews. “And the only thing I know for sure is that Terry Crews gets three checks from NBC. So, I don’t know if being worried about job stability — which, listen, we all know that if you speak up about racism and white supremacy, you absolutely can be shown the door. We are both very clear on that. So, I don’t know if that’s the motivation.”
She continued, “People were like, ‘Well, you weren’t the only Black person on America’s Got Talent, and I was like, ‘No, I was on there with Terry Crews.’ Based on his recent actions, do you really think Terry Crews was an ally, was helpful, was a sounding board? I think Terry Crews is showing us who he is and what he does during times of adversity, and it’s not solidarity.”
Crews released an apology to Union on Saturday saying, “This will be my 3rd public apology to Gabrielle Union. If a 4th is needed, I will continue to apologize and push for reconciliation between the world, and more importantly, the culture I grew up in. I’m sorry, @itsgabrielleu.”
An NBC investigation into Union’s allegations found that those working on the talent show did not behave insensitively toward the former judge, who was removed from the panel along with Julianne Hough last November.
The L.A.’s Finest star made clear that she didn’t have unrealistic expectations of Crews during her struggle, explaining he could have shown solidarity without blasting his employer.
“Not to say if I offer you solidarity I expect you to be the getaway driver during a bank robbery,” she explained. “That’s what he made it sound like in one of those series of tweets. If you saw something, say something. But if you didn’t have my experience the way that I experience it, you also have an option to say, ‘Yeah, I believe Gab. I just had a different experience.’ And, end of story.”
She added, “You don’t have to do a press tour where your sole objective is to discredit and malign me. You know, I’ve been in Hollywood a long time. There’s very little that surprises me, but that was very disappointing for sure.”