• Celebrity
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Black Beauty Awards 2022
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2022 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • Wellness House
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK WOMEN COME FIRST

Every day we're serving Black women deeply. Come get a plate of goodness! Sign up for daily content and exclusive offers you'll love!

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and that you have read our Privacy Policy
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
      • Paint The Polls Black
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Black Beauty Awards 2022
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2022 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • Wellness House
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · Celebrity

Gabrielle Union Tears Down Preconceptions Around Sexual Abuse Victims In Powerful Twitter Thread

Gabrielle Union Tears Down Preconceptions Around Sexual Abuse Victims In Powerful Twitter Thread
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
By David Canfield · Updated October 26, 2020

Amid a week’s worth of harrowing sexual abuse allegations surrounding disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, actress Gabrielle Union offered some insights in a powerful Twitter thread.

Union began her string of tweets on Sunday by reiterating the notion that women should never be blamed for being assaulted or harassed — nor for staying silent. “Sexual violence & harassment can happen to anyone at any time anywhere,” she began. “Ppl remain silent 4 many different very personal reasons. Judgment, victim shaming/blaming, loss of job/$, fear of violence, retaliation.”

Real grown up shit. We all need this reminder when we talk abt our personal evolution. We must be accountable 4 ALL our shit past & present https://t.co/DvFv96ftyL

— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) October 15, 2017

 

Sexual violence & harassment can happen to anyone at anytime anywhere.

— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) October 15, 2017

 

Ppl remain silent 4 many different very personal reasons. Judgment, victim shaming/blaming, loss of job/$, fear of violence, retaliation

— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) October 15, 2017

 

Folks are also very open and obvious about what kind of victim should be prioritized & believed. To think otherwise is to be willfully dim

— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) October 15, 2017

 

In Hollywood meetings in homes, hotel lobbies/restaurants/suites, private isolated office space is the norm. NO ONE "ASKED FOR IT!!"

— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) October 15, 2017

 

Sexual or physical violence, harassment, demeaning language is NOT the price one should pay for seeking or maintaining employment. Period

— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) October 15, 2017

Union then shifted her focus to arguments over how women should dress and appear in front of men, which intensified after Donna Karan initially suggested women might be “asking for it” and Mayim Bialik wrote a controversial op-ed in the New York Times that indicated being “average-looking” helped her avoid the predatory behavior of men in Hollywood like Weinstein. Addressing that view, Union recounted a painful experience in order to discredit it. “I got raped at work at a Payless shoe store,” she tweeted. “I had on a long tunic & leggings so miss me w/ ‘dress modestly’ s—.”

Reminder. I got raped at work at a Payless shoe store. I had on a long tunic & leggings so miss me w/ "dress modestly" shit.

— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) October 15, 2017

 

Though I was raped by a stranger who raped me at gunpoint after robbing the store, I was still asked by a female "friend" what I had worn

— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) October 15, 2017

 

Look around, u can EASILY see whose pain is "real/valid" & must be addressed & whose pain is tolerable, unimportant & systematically ignored

— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) October 15, 2017

Finally, some time later, Union hit back at detractors on social media by retweeting a reaction from the Black Girl Nerds Twitter account: “These men in [Gabrielle Union’s] mentions right now trying to justify rape is absolutely disgusting.”

These men in @itsgabrielleu mentions right now trying to justify rape is absolutely disgusting.

— Black Girl Nerds (@BlackGirlNerds) October 15, 2017

 

When ppl ask why I chose to write about my rape in my book or why I continue to speak about sexual violence...this right here. https://t.co/2BaO3gNj7D

— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) October 15, 2017

Last year, in a powerful piece for the Los Angeles Times, Union revealed that she was sexually assaulted at gunpoint more than two decades ago. The Being Mary Jane actress wrote the piece in response to the rape allegations against Nate Parker that had resurfaced. Union was a costar in the breakout film he directed and starred in, The Birth of a Nation.

This article originally appeared on People. 

TOPICS:  Gabrielle Union
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now