Thursday, March 28, 2024

Gabrielle Union Had a Little Talk with Lena Dunham about ‘White Girl Privilege’

Gabrielle Union - Harper's Bazaar
Gabrielle Union – Harper’s Bazaar

*In a new interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Gabrielle Union revealed that she would love to have a sit down with white actresses Amy Schumer and Kate Upton who have recently made headlines with recent comments deemed racially insensitive.

The star of “Being Mary Jane” and “Almost Christmas” said she has already had a “productive conversation” with actress Lena Dunham of HBO’s “Girls” about the topic of “white girl privilege,” and would hope to do the same with Schumer and Upton to “help to explain the oppressive systems that have benefited and allowed them to say these careless, insensitive and offensive things.”

Union was referring to Upton’s attack of Colin Kaepernick for taking a knee during the national anthem in protest of racial injustice and police brutality. Upton said on Instagram: “Sitting or kneeling down during the national anthem is a disgrace to those people who have served and currently serve our country.”

Union was also addressing Schumer’s since-deleted tweet stating that black and Hispanic men catcall women more often than white men. Also, the 35-year-old comedian has since come under fire for her parody of Beyonce’s black empowerment anthem “Formation.”

Union did not elaborate on what led up to her talk with Dunham, but perhaps it was Dunham’s recent assumptions about why New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. didn’t give her the time of day while seated beside her at this year’s Met Gala.

“I was sitting next to Odell Beckham Jr., and it was so amazing because it was like he looked at me and he determined I was not the shape of a woman by his standards. He was like, ‘That’s a marshmallow. That’s a child. That’s a dog.’ It wasn’t mean — he just seemed confused,” Dunham told Schumer, who were interviewing each other for Dunham’s newsletter, Lenny Letter. “The vibe was very much like, ‘Do I want to f**k it? Is it wearing a … yep, it’s wearing a tuxedo. I’m going to go back to my cell phone.'”

Dunham’s assumptions were met with outrage, and she quickly apologized, saying she was unfairly projecting her own insecurities onto Beckham.

Gabrielle Union - Harper's Bazaar .
Gabrielle Union – Harper’s Bazaar (Left: Ellery “Butler” dress, $1,760, ellery.com; Delfina Delettrez “Marry Me” and “Dots” rings, price upon request, delfinadelettrez.com; Tilda Biehn “Concave” and “Convex” rings, $920-$1,840, plandeville.com; Wedding band: Union’s own. Right: Rosie Assoulin “Crater” knit top, $1,795, Bergdorf Goodman, 212-753-7300; Delfina Delettrez “Multipearl” earring, $2,250, farfetch.com.)

 

Overall, Union told Harper’s Bazaar that she is tired of the “bulls—” that comes along with being an African-American woman in Hollywood. “That sense of being hyper-visible or invisible on sets,” she explains.

“When do you stand up and point out every micro-aggression, and when do you stand down so you’re not the angry black person all the time? It’s tiring,” she adds. “It feels like another job that you’re not getting paid for — that is all-encompassing.”

We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!

YOU MAY LIKE

SEARCH

- Advertisement -

TRENDING