Feisty Gabrielle Union Shuts Down Simon Cowell With His Own Words On ‘AGT’
NBC Reading Time: 3 minutes
The AGT live shows began on Tuesday night, and the first round brought an unfiltered Gabrielle Union, who fired back at Simon Cowell during judging. What happened? and could the live shows bring more drama between the judges?
Gabrielle Union vs. Simon Cowell
The moment happened after the first performance of the night, from girl group GFORCE. Simon told them he didn’t like their original song. “If you manage to get through to the next round, you’ve got about two weeks to find someone to write you a killer song,” he said.
“Wait a second,” Gabrielle chimed in. “Who else remembers that Simon told them that they needed to take more control over their music and they should write their own songs?” Host Terry Crews, as well as the audience, seemed to agree with her, as Simon mumbled, “I take it back.”
Do The Live Shows Change The Judges’ Behavior?
Could we be seeing more drama between the judges now that the live shows have started? After all, since everything is more immediate now, the judges have less time to think through what they’re going to say. This might remove some of their filter, and the show can’t edit it down.
There were also a few snarky moments between Howie Mandel and the other judges in last night’s episode, particularly after dance group the Emerald Belles performed. Howie hadn’t been impressed with their previous performances, but they proved him wrong last night.
“You guys killed it,” Gabrielle told them, before turning to Howie. “And I don’t hear anything over there. It’s crickets from Howie.” When Howie started his critique, Simon threw in one of his famous “meow” noises, implying a fight. Shortly after that, he said Howie owed the group “a public apology.”
Gabrielle Isn’t The First Judge To Call Simon Out
Speaking of Simon’s “meow” habit, judge Julianne Hough called him out on the sexist habit in a recent show. “Do not start with the meows,” she told him when he made the noise, interestingly also following an Emerald Belles performance.
“I take it back. I take it back. I won’t ever say that again,” Simon told her when she threatened to spit her drink in his face. Maybe he thinks if he says it during a male judge’s critique, it’s not a problem.
Julianne also backed up drag queen singing group Stephanie’s Child on a recent show, after they called Simon a “hypocrite” for implying they shouldn’t sing live. “I’m gonna kill him,” Julianne said. When Simon suggested the judges should support each other, she fired back, “Not when you’re wrong.”
Do Gabrielle Union And Simon Cowell Get Along?
Gabrielle addressed her judging relationship with Simon Cowell back when the season was first in production. She said in an interview that they “get along very well,” adding, “I think he appreciates straight shooters.”
She was definitely a straight shooter last night, and we’re looking forward to what she has to say in future episodes. Simon may be showing a nicer side in recent years, but that doesn’t mean he’s immune to criticism — from judges and contestants alike.
[interaction id=”5d28b2d12a9c607e82448753″]
