Former "America's Got Talent" judge Howard Stern is blaming Simon Cowell for the forced exit of Gabrielle Union, who came to the forefront last week amid reports that her alleged complaints about workplace toxicity fell on deaf ears.
The radio powerhouse weighed in on the ordeal during his SiriusXM show on Monday, stating that Cowell, who is the creator and producer of "America's Got Talent," gave preference to men when selecting the panel of judges.
"He sets it up that the men stay no matter how ugly [the men] are, no matter how old they are, no matter how fat they are, no matter how talentless they are," Stern said, adding that it is the "ultimate example of a boys' club," according to Fox News.
Making matters worse is that Cowell "replaces the hot chicks with hotter chicks and younger chicks," Stern added.
The attack come days after Variety ran an exclusive report highlighting Union's allegations of racial slurs and discriminatory practices experienced during her time spent as a judge on the 14th season of "America's Got Talent." She was let go from the NBC show shortly after bringing the issue to the attention of producers.
Central to her complaint is a joke cracked by guest judge Jay Leno earlier this year about a painting portraying Cowell surrounded by dogs, which he said looked like they could be found "on the menu at a Korean restaurant." His comments were omitted from the episode that was aired Aug. 6, Fox News noted.
Union took issue with the offhand remark, which she deemed offensive to Asian people, and allegedly requested producers to raise it with human resources — a request that was not fulfilled, sources told Variety.
The SAG-AFTRA union has since launched an investigation into Union's allegations.