Gabrielle Union is reflecting on her breakout role in the 2000 film “Bring it On.”
The actress and model, 48, is wishing she had done more for her character as the only Black female role in the film.
In the film, Union plays Isis, the head of The Clovers cheerleading squad. Throughout the film, The Clovers face off against rival high school cheerleading squad the Toros.
Union opened up about her experience being on set in her new book titled, "You Got Anything Stronger?”
“As the only Black person at the reading, I already felt isolated. I didn’t want to read the words on the page, but I knew I had to because this was one step toward securing the offer,” Union wrote in an excerpt that was posted on The Cut. She continued, “In the end, my fear of being maligned by my own community superseded my fear of getting replaced.”
Union said that she spoke with the movie director Payton Reed to help change racist and stereotypical dialogue. She worked to give her character a meaningful future by ending her journey at the prestigious UC Berkeley. Union said all edits she made to the script were cut in the final version of the film.
“I am here to apologize to you. When I said today that you didn’t go far enough, that was on me. I failed you and myself. I was the fourth lead, but my face was on the poster. You were the girl with no last name, but the star of every meme. You were only in about a third of the movie, and now I would know to fight for equal time to tell your story. Your iconic moments with the Clovers are what people remember, though I know it’s partly that we are bits of Black resistance dropped in the middle of the milk.”
Union has since used what she learned on set of “Bring It On” to influence the decision she makes today.
“I wish I had just given you the space to be a Black girl who is exceptional without making any kind of compromise. Because that’s who I want to be now. That’s what I am chasing, so much later in life than you: to be exceptional by my own standards. Unapologetically me.”
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