AGT's Simon Cowell Lawyers Up

“America’s Got Talent” executive producer Simon Cowell has set his legal representation for an investigation into the NBC competition series, which was announced by the network last week after a lengthy meeting with ousted judge Gabrielle Union, reports Variety.

Simon Cowell

Cowell has hired Larry Stein, a longtime litigator in Hollywood and media spaces, multiple individuals familiar with the matter told Variety. Stein is expected to advise Cowell and participate in a probe regarding complaints of a toxic culture at the show, raised by staffers including Union. The complaints included numerous accusations of racial insensitivity and excessive critiques of the female cast.

Cowell’s banner Syco, production company Fremantle and NBC all expressed a desire to learn more about Union’s issues a week ago, which resulted in a five-hour meeting on Tuesday — though sources said Cowell was notably absent for this exploratory meeting, as was any representative from Syco. The meeting included an NBC staffer who took notes, Fremantle’s North American COO, Suzanne Lopez, and a third party counselor hired by the network.