After enduring about a week of constant online roasting, Terry Crews has finally issued an apology for his Today statements about NBC’s investigation into America’s Got Talent after Gabrielle Union’s firing.
Crews issued a series of tweets Friday addressing his various comments about the situation involving America’s Got Talent, of which he is the host, and Union, whose firing came after she had lobbied several complaints of racism and sexism against the show’s production.
“I told @KevinHart4real a while ago, he needed 2 ‘acknowledge the pain of other people,'” he said on Twitter. “Right now I have to do the same thing. I want to apologize for the comments I made. I realize there are a lot of Black women hurt and let down by what I said and also by what I didn’t say.”
“I hear you, I respect you and I understand you,” he continued. “I am sorry and I am here to support you. I spoke from my own personal point of view without first taking into consideration someone else’s experience.”
He also said he let “disrespectful comments directed at me and my family” cause him to lash out. “This certainly caused more harm, and it is my hope that I can amend any pain I have caused to those who were hurt by my words.”
He ended his thread addressing Union personally, writing, “@itsgabrielleu, I want you to know it was never my intention to invalidate your experience–but that is what I did. I apologize. You have been through a lot in this business, and with that I empathize with the struggle toward fairness and equality in the workplace.” He also called her “a role model to the entire [B]lack community,” adding, “[i]n my desire to be professionally neutral as your co-worker, I should have at the very least understood you just needed my support.”
I told @KevinHart4real a while ago, he needed 2 “acknowledge the pain of other people.” Right now I have to do the same thing. I want to apologize for the comments I made. I realize there are a lot of Black women hurt and let down by what I said and also by what I didn’t say.
— terry crews (@terrycrews) January 31, 2020
I hear you, I respect you and understand you. I am sorry and I am here to support you. I spoke from my own personal point of view without first taking into consideration someone else’s experience.
— terry crews (@terrycrews) January 31, 2020
I allowed disrespectful comments directed at me and my family to cause me to react angrily instead of responding thoughtfully. This certainly caused more harm, and it is my hope that I can amend any pain I have caused to those who were hurt by my words.
— terry crews (@terrycrews) January 31, 2020
@itsgabrielleu, I want you to know it was never my intention to invalidate your experience— but that is what I did. I apologize. You have been through a lot in this business, and with that I empathize with the struggle toward fairness and equality in the workplace.
— terry crews (@terrycrews) January 31, 2020
@itsgabrielleu You are a role model to the entire black community and In my desire to be professionally neutral as your co-worker, I should have at the very least understood you just needed my support.
Sincerely, Terry Crews
— terry crews (@terrycrews) January 31, 2020
The apologies come after days of Crews being mercilessly roasted online by fans who felt slighted by what he had said on Today. While appearing on the show Jan. 24, he called America’s Got Talent “the most diverse place I have ever been in my 20 years of entertainment.” Many people took his comment as a way to disregard Union’s experience with the show, especially after she and other Black women supported him when he revealed he was sexually violated by former WME agent Adam Venit.
Crews then made matters worse when he tweeted a statement about not having to look after anyone else other than his wife.
“There is only one woman on earth I have to please. Her name is Rebecca,” he tweeted Jan. 27. “Not my mother, my sister, my daughters or co-workers. I will let their husbands/boyfriends/partners take care of them. Rebecca gives me WINGS.”
READ MORE:
Terry Crews On Gabrielle Union’s ‘AGT’ Firing, Racism And Sexism: ‘That Was Never My Experience’
Terry Crews Responds To Backlash Around His Comments On Gabrielle Union
Photo: Getty
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