Popular actress Gabrielle Union has shared her experience with racism in Hollywood. Recall that the moviestar had penned her sad experience in her book, “Supreme Actresses: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Hollywood,” released in 2021.
Remphasizing her ordeal with racists, Gabrielle shared that despite the success of women of colour in Hollywood, the challenges faced must be highlighted as well.
According to her, the racism was so bad that there was a long drought of black teen shows on TV until Halle Berry won the Oscar for ‘Monster’s Ball.’
She stated that even when more roles became available after Halle’s recognition, there were still few starring roles for anyone who was not her.
“Historically, for all the triumphs of women of color in Hollywood, there are as many setbacks. There are moments when there is enough work for each of us, and moments when it feels like there is none…
When I first came on the scene, there were all these white teen shows and Black teen shows…then there was a drought until Halle Berry won the Oscar for Monster’s Ball.
That created more work, but not as many starring roles for anyone who wasn’t Halle. I go from starring in “Bad Boys II,” which opens at $55 million—“Oh my God, you’re the It girl”—to my next role as the fifth or sixth lead on “City of Angels,” a CBS medical procedural…” she said.
The “Mary Jane” star recalled her role as Isis in “Bring It On,” stressing that she regrets how she portrayed the character and stifled her right to free expression.
Gabrielle concluded by saying that looking back now, she would have done a lot of things differently, including letting the girl express her full humanity as a black woman.
“I was given full range to do whatever I wanted with Isis in Bring It On, and I chose respectability, and to be classy, and take the high road because I felt like that would make her appropriate, the right kind of Black girl. Black girls aren’t allowed to be angry. Certainly not demonstratively angry and I muzzled her.
Read the Toros for filth. I would have been like, ‘Yeah, when you had to do your own work it wasn’t enough. You came in second. Take that L. Thank that loss. I would’ve allowed her to be angry. I would have allowed her her full humanity.
I made her gracious, this decent kind leader, and I was still a villain in that movie for making her want accountability for the theft of their work product and the cultural appropriation.
I did all that shape-shifting for a character not even realizing I was doing that to myself, too. I wasn’t allowing myself the full range of my humanity.
We think we’re post-racial but we’re not. And that is beyond disappointing. I don’t think people understand the violence that comes with racism, whether it’s if you’re being chased or you’re having to watch someone wear blackface to collect a paycheck. It’s violent,” she added.
