Tamron Hallis defendingGabrielle Unionin the wake of her controversialAmerica’s Got Talentfiring.
“[Difficult] is the go-to word. It’s a trope when it comes to women. We are difficult, black women are angry and difficult,” said Hall, 49. “I have in this business watched men storm out of rooms, puffing and huffing, and no one says anything. A woman speaks up, you’re difficult. We just did a show on likeability trap, that women are always in this likability trap.”
One day prior, Time’s Up CEO Tina Tchen issued astatementtoVariety, slamming NBC and alsodefending Union.
Gary Gershoff/Getty Images; Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images
Then on Nov. 26,Varietypublished a reportclaiming that in addition to Union expressing concerns over racially insensitive situations on theSimon Cowellexecutive-produced show, she and Hough, 31, were both subjected to “excessive notes” on their physical appearance, sources alleged to the outlet.
Hough has since denied having a negative experience working onAGT, saying she had a “wonderful time” on the show. She is appearing in two upcoming holiday specials on the network.
The report also alleged that guest judgeJay Lenomade an inappropriate joke that was later edited out of his episode.
Leno, 69, addressed the allegations for the first time on Monday, telling TMZ, “I love Gabrielle Union. She’s a great girl. I really enjoyed working with her. She’s really good.”
When the comedian was asked if Union was treated fairly on the hit competition series, Leno said, “I don’t know … but I think she’s a great girl.”
Representatives for Hough, Union and Leno have not responded to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
Additionally, according to multiple reports, Union allegedly complained that fellow judge Cowell, 60, was smoking indoors, which is illegal in California whereAGTfilms. She is allergic to cigarette smoke.
Trae Patton/NBC
On the allegations that Cowell was lighting up on set, Hall said on Tuesday’sTamron Hallepisode, “again, bringing up this allegation of smoking, I know people can say, ‘What’s the big deal?’ But it is illegal and it speaks to what powerful people are allowed to do that others are not. If, again, let me stress, [I] wasn’t there, but if it’s true, yeah it can seem like something’s that nothing, but no other employee could do that if what is alleged is true.”
On Monday,Howard Stern,who previously served as a judge onAGTfor four seasons from 2012 through 2015, hinted at Cowell’s allegedly questionable behavior on the show, both slamming and accusing him of having “orchestrated” Union’s firing.
“How is it that Simon Cowell has orchestrated this?” said Stern, 65. “He sets it up that the men stay, no matter how ugly they are, no matter how old they are, no matter how fat they are, no matter how talentless they are.”
“But what he manages to do on all his shows is he constantly replaces the hot chicks with hotter chicks and younger chicks. Which is so obvious,” Stern added.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; Tibrina Hobson/WireImage
A rep for Cowell did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment regarding Stern’s remarks.
“It’s just great,” she added. “But two and a half years ago, when I walked out of that building in black patent leather boots and a black-and-white jacket, I was in a fog. I thought, ‘Wow, is this how it goes down?’ Not knowing that so many of us lose things we think are important, and you have no idea that something better is right there. You’ve just got to persevere.”
And persevere is exactly what she did.
“I decided to take a leap of faith,” Hallpreviously told PEOPLE. “I knew I would have to trust my gut and that I could be a part of something that would reflect who I am as a person, as a journalist, as a woman.”
Although her road to happiness has been painful at times — “I leaned on my friends, my family. I cried. They weren’t pity cries; it was the reality of fear,” she explained of her NBC exit — she is thankful for the losses.
source: people.com
