'I Tried to Shoot My Rapist,' Says Gabrielle Union to Defend Rihanna
Actress Gabrielle Union is jumping on board with Rihanna to defend the R&B singer’s latest music video “Man Down” being criticized for showing the gunning down of a rapist.
With a series of tweets, the 38-year-old actress and a victim of rape herself expressed her opinion on the video after a fan asked her how she felt about the video.
“Saw ‘Man Down’ by @rihanna. Every victim/survivor of rape is unique, including how they THINK they’d like justice 2 be handed out,” she first wrote.
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“Durin my rape I tried 2 shoot my rapist, bt I missed. Over the yrs I realized tht killin my rapist would’ve added insult 2 injury.”
When a fan responded, “U were raped? Uh? By who?” Union, who has spoken openly in the past about her rape, shared how she was sexually assaulted when she was 19 years old.
“Stranger who robbed the store I worked at. He put his gun dwn durin the rape & asked me 2 had it 2 him.”
Union said while the desire to kill someone who has abused or raped you is understandable, it would just add to your troubles unless it was in self-defense to save your life.
“I repeat SELF DEFENSE 2 save urself/protect urself, I’M ALL 4. Otherwise victim/survivor takin justice N2 ur own hands w/ violence=MO trouble 4 U!”
The “Bring it On” star who supports several organizations working with victims of sexual abuse and officially joined this year the Obama National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women also made known that she did not regret missing that shot 19 years ago, which could have left her with more pain to sort through, reported Clutch magazine.
While Union, acting in self-defense, could not kill her attacker, Rihanna, in “Man Down” shoots her assaulter in “cold blood.”
The PTC, Industry Ears, and the Enough Is Enough Campaign have all joined hands to stop the airing of the video which premiered on BET’s “106 & Park” May 31.
“‘Man Down’ is an inexcusable, shock-only, shoot-and-kill theme song,” Paul Porter, the co-founder of Industry Ears said in a previous statement. “In my 30 years of viewing BET, I have never witnessed such a cold, calculated execution of murder in primetime.”
Firing back at her critics on Twitter, the Barbadian popstar defended her video by saying it wasn’t her job to raise the nation’s kids.
“The music industry isn’t exactly Parents R Us!” she tweeted. “We have the freedom to make art, LET US! It’s your job to make sure they don’t turn out like us.
“I’m a 23-year-old rockstar with NO KIDS! What’s up with everybody wanting me to be a parent? I’m just a girl, I can only be your/our voice.”
Sending the social networking world in a fury, an unapologetic Rihanna urged, “Guys please stop making threats #NotCool!!! We love it, they don’t...that is all, and the world keeps turning!”
Union also continued to express her approval of the video updating that it did a “GREAT job of getting the ENTIRE world TALKING abt RAPE. I hope tht it leads 2 HEALING & PREVENTS RAPE.”
In response to all of the controversy, BET affirmed that the video “complied” with its standards, even though BET CEO Debra Lee had formerly stated that “BET [did not] air music videos that contain graphic or excessive sexual activity or violence.”
“BET’s justification for airing Rihanna’s video is beyond inadequate,” said Melissa Henson, director of communications and public education for the PTC in a statement.
“It’s pretty obvious what is going on here,” Porter also added. “BET said no to Rihanna’s ‘S&M’ and ‘Russian Roulette,’ but cut a deal to support ‘Man Down’ for a performance at this year’s ‘BET Awards’ show. While we all agree rape is a terrible crime, ‘Man Down’ offers no positive solution for rape victims except vigilante justice.”
The PTC, Enough Is Enough Campaign, and Industry Ears continue to urge the network to stop airing the video.
