Originally Posted by
RanRan79
Not buying it. Either Mary's account is false, dreamed up to add drama to Dreamgirl, or Gordy used that as a manipulation tactic. Nothing about Gordy's relationship with the Supremes suggests that he would've ever given Mary the power to veto his decision about anything. If he really wanted Jean gone, she would've been out on her ass and Mary would've just had to deal with it. If Mary's account isn't false, then Gordy used that Jean thing as a reason to walk away and being able to say "well Mary thinks she can do a better job than me, so the group is hers" as opposed to saying "I only gave a damn about the Supremes because of Diana. No Diana, no Berry" and of course that wouldn't have been a good look. Gordy knew that pulling Jean out at this late point would've pissed Mary off, and probably Cindy too, after all of the work they had done helping Jean get into the role. He knew Mary wouldn't go for it. Since Flo's exit, Mary had slowly taken over Flo's role of questioning some of the decisions and business surrounding the group and how everyone was treated. I believe Gordy made that call because he knew exactly how Mary would respond and he was hoping he was right.
Gordy wasn't invested in the Supremes after Diana's exit. He may not have wished for their failure, but he wasn't going to lift much of a finger to avoid it either. The Supremes were no different to him than Martha and the Vandellas or the Marvelettes at this point, and I don't believe he wished for either of those two groups decline, but he sure as hell didn't lift a finger to save them either.