We Stand With Gabrielle Union
You aren’t supposed to raise your voice and speak out in a workplace. You can’t because you’re a black woman. Your role is to show up, do your job, and keep quiet. If you don’t, you could lose your job or labeled as “too difficult to work with.” Even if your boss makes racist jokes or disregards consent in terms of personal touching, you keep your head down and work. Whether you work a 9-5 or you’re a celebrity, this is the way life goes when dealing with white men in positions of power. Gabrielle Union is the latest celebrity to experience backlash and the loss of a job because she used her voice to speak out against the treatment she was receiving as a judge on NBC’s “Americas Got Talent”. The network alone should tell you where this going…
If you’ve been keeping with Entertainment news lately, then you know that the NBC network has built a reputation for protecting powerful sexual abusers like Matt Lauer and getting rid of women who dared speak out about it. They’ve created a culture where white men have the last and final say, and if you take issue with it, you will be shown the door. It wasn’t until a complaint against Matt Lauer was made public and proved to be ‘credible,’ that the network decided to fire him. Never mind the fact that several complaints against Lauer had fallen on deaf ears because he was once known as a sex symbol for daytime television. Yeah, what a dumb idea. Women literally have to provide everything, but a blood sample in order for their abusers to be held accountable for their disgusting actions. In the case of Gabrielle Union, the white man leading the charge was Simon Cowell, who has a reputation for being a ruthless dictator.
Just to be clear, Gabrielle Union wasn’t fired because she was terrible at her job. Numbers don’t lie and the proof was in the pudding. While I am not an avid watcher of the show, I can tell that she brought a fresh perspective from the judges point of view. Her contract wasn’t renewed because she wasn’t putting up with criticism about her appearance, her style, and comments about her hairstyles being “too black” for the show. She also called out Jay Leno for making a racist remark when he made a guest appearance on the show. Normally, a black woman in her situation would adjust and keep her head down out of fear of losing a paycheck and being called “angry.” Gabrielle chose to do the opposite and even urged producers to report such incidents to HR. Shortly after, she was cut from the show. Of course, AGT released a standard Hollywood statement about how they’ve always been about inclusion and diversity, but naw. Something in the milk ain’t clean and seems very familiar.
When news hit that Gabby was let go, it raised a red flag and caused the masses to call out NBC’s toxic culture of protecting misogyny and silencing those those who speak out against it. This news caused the “Time’s Up” movement, a coalition of Hollywood women, to speak out in support of Gabby and issue a petition. A number of prominent women including Viola Davis, Ellen Pompeo, Debra Messing, and Eva Longoria have raised their voices in support of Union. Past judges of the show have also come forward and spoken out about Simon and the problematic atmosphere at NBC. This problem isn’t just exclusive to just women either. Nick Cannon left the show after he was threatened with termination over a joke he told at a stand up special. Pretty much, anybody who opens their mouth against the system can get gone.
I’m happy to see all the support that Gabby is receiving when normally, our cries and complaints go unheard and dismissed. This movement might only make a small dent in a much larger wall, but the impact will be felt. Gabby has been in this business a long time and has bounced back from much worse so I know she’s going to come back ten time harder. We will continue to stand with her and support any of her future endeavors. Heck, this might open a bigger door for her going forward. She’s a black woman and we always land on our feet.
Real quick before I go, please take a look at this last screenshot. Terry Crews is a host on AGT as we speak and note this very small show of support he showed Gabby. Gabby showed Terry so much support when he spoke out against his sexual assault when his fellow black brotherhood were telling him to shut up. I guess a paycheck is more import then standing behind the very black women you claimed had your back when no one else did. Chile…..
