During an appearance on 'The View', Union talks about the horrible experience when she was young, saying, 'I hated the cloak of victimhood.'
- Feb 26, 2014
AceShowbiz - Gabrielle Union talked about coping with a horrible experience in the past during an appearance on "The View" on Tuesday, February 25. Stopping by the show in a black dress, the 41-year-old star opened up about being raped at the age of 19.
Union was assaulted at gunpoint when she worked at a shoe store. The attacker also raped another person and robbed the store. When asked about how she coped with the experience, Union said, "I got sick of people letting me off the hook."
"Being a victim is so comfortable. People give you attention, people are nurturing ... When something catastrophic happens in your life, everyone rallies around you. You're getting all the attention and love and support that you always wanted. But it's not for something positive, and I hated that. I hated feeling like a victim. I hated the cloak of victim-hood. I realized they were going to allow me to be a victim, and not succeed and not achieve my goals," she explained.
"It makes you lazy, and I wanted that cloak of victim-hood off. I wanted to embrace being a survivor. That's who I am. I wasn't raised to be coddled. I was raised to be an independent woman, standing on my own two feet, and that's the road I opted to take," Union added.
The "Being Mary Jane" star additionally discussed how her parents' divorce contributed to her preparation to being a stepmother to Dywane Wade's children. "I'm lucky that I come from a family that went through divorce. I'm sure there was bitterness and anger and resentment ... but I don't know, because they never made it our issue. They handled the divorce and our subsequent transition into a blended family with grace and dignity and respect," she explained. "I'm lucky I can just mirror what my parents did, and put the kids first."
