Julianne Hough addressed Gabrielle Union’s revelation yesterday that she had a five-hour meeting with NBC about the culture at “America’s Got Talent.”
Speaking during an appearance on the “Today” show this morning, Hough commended Union for standing up for herself, and also congratulated NBC for agreeing to sit down with her for discussions.
“When I see that comment there that excites me so much because that is what we need to start conversations and I just commend Gabrielle for speaking her truth and starting a conversation,” said Hough. “And I’m really proud of NBC as well for showing up and starting a narrative and that’s what’s going to change the workplace and the paradigm that we’ve been working in for many, many years. It’s shifting and that’s really exciting.”
When asked if she has reached out to Union directly, Hough said that she had, but that both had been “really busy,” and that she hopes to connect with Union when she returns to Los Angeles.
Later in the interview, Hough was asked if she was surprised about how much attention the issue has received.
“No I wasn’t because I think this is a big conversation and people really want to be a leader of change,” she replied. “Again I’m just really excited about the tweet to those that two people can come together and have the conversation.”
Hough’s comments come after NBC said it was launching a deeper investigation into its reality competition series “America’s Got Talent,” eight days after Variety exclusively reported that Union and Hough would not return to the series amid complaints of toxic culture on set.
Union tweeted Wednesday that she shared her “unfiltered truth” in the discussion, which according to multiple Variety sources included racial insensitivity in the show’s content and directed at Union herself.
“We had a lengthy 5-hour, and what I thought to be, productive meeting yesterday. I was able to, again, express my unfiltered truth. I led with transparency and my desire and hope for real change,” Union tweeted.
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