Executives at Fox Searchlight have reached out to Birth of a Nation‘s leading lady, Gabrielle Union, to help save the slave film from going straight to DVD.
Union, who stars as a slave who is gang raped in the film, wrote an opinion editorial for the L.A. Times.
In her op-ed, the 43-year-old actress said she experienced “stomach-churning confusion” when she heard about what her co-star Nate Parker had done.
Parker, who also wrote and directed Birth of Nation, attempted to use a 17-year-old rape accusation to portray himself as a victim.
As with most narcissists who try to play the victim, his ploy backfired badly.
Sadly, the real victim, an unnamed Penn State student who was raped by Parker and the film’s co-writer, Jean Celestin, killed herself in 2012.
“I took this role because I related to the experience,” Union wrote, explaining she was raped at gunpoint 24 years ago at a Payless shoe store where she worked.
“I also wanted to give a voice to my character, who remains silent throughout the film. In her silence, she represents countless black women who have been and continue to be violated… I knew I could walk out of our movie and speak to the audience about what it feels like to be a survivor,” she added.
“I cannot take these allegations lightly,” she wrote. “On that night, 17-odd years ago, did Nate have his date’s consent? It’s very possible he thought he did. Yet by his own admission he did not have verbal affirmation; and even if she never said ‘no,’ silence certainly does not equal ‘yes.’ Although it’s often difficult to read and understand body language, the fact that some individuals interpret the absence of a ‘no’ as a ‘yes’ is problematic at least, criminal at worst. That’s why education on this issue is so vital.”
Union should cut her losses and stick a fork in Parker and his slave rape film. They are both done.
