Former 'America's Got Talent' judge, Gabriella Union has filed a complaint on Thursday against the show and NBC.
Union has alleged that she had objected to an on-set environment that allegedly tolerated racism and general toxic work culture.
The complaint filed with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing says Union was harassed and discriminated against because of her race, and experienced retaliation for reporting these problems.
The document mentions previously reported issues that Union, who is black, had with the show's acceptance of racist jokes and remarks from judges, and cites criticism she received about her hair during tapings.
“Union, a black woman, was singled out due to her physical appearance and discriminated against by NBC due to the fact that her hair did not fit within the white image that NBC apparently sought to convey to the audience of AGT,” the complaint states, adding that a network executive and a show producer allegedly “informed Union’s manager that her hair was ‘too wild’ and that it needed to be 'toned down.'”
The complaint also has fresh allegations made by Union which states that NBC Entertainment Chairman Paul Telegdy called Union's agents to issue unspecified threats, shared confidential information on the controversy with celebrities that the show was looking to hire, and sought to undermine an investigation of Union's issues.
Interestingly, in a statement issued to Fox News, NBC and the 'AGT' producers said that they took Union's concerns "extremely seriously" and "conducted more than 30 interviews to review the issues raised by Ms. Union" via an external investigator.
"Through the investigation process, it has been 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," the statement added. "The investigation has shown that the concerns raised by Ms. Union had no bearing on the decision not to exercise the option on her contract."
Union's attorney Bryan Freedman said the “racial bullying” Union received stands in contrast to the network's recent statements about being outraged by racism and standing with Black Lives Matter.
