Gabrielle Union Talked to Lena Dunham About ‘White Girl Privilege’
Image by Getty
By Thea Glassman November 22, 2016
Gabrielle Union is checking white celebrities on their privilege.
In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, the “Birth of a Nation” actress touched on a productive conversation she had with Lena Dunham about “white girl privilege.”
Union added that she would also like to dialogue with Amy Schumer and Kate Upton on similar issues. The actress was critical of comments Upton made after NFL player Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem in protest of police brutalities against minorities.
“Sitting or kneeling down during the national anthem is a disgrace to those people who have served and currently serve our country,” Upton wrote on Instagram.
Union said she hopes that conversations with these actresses might “help to explain the oppressive systems that have benefited and allowed them to say these careless, insensitive and offensive things.”
There’s a whole lot of “bullshit” that comes with being a black actress, Union said, and sometimes it is hard to know which battles to fight.
“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 said. “It feels like another job that you’re not getting paid for—that is all encompassing.”
Thea Glassman is an Associate Editor at the Forward. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter at @theakglassman.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
