During an Instagram Live session with model Sharam Diniz, the former 'America's Got Talent' judge reminds others about the reality of entertainers living from paycheck to paycheck.
- May 4, 2020
AceShowbiz - Being a celebrity does not mean one does not struggle financially in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Gabrielle Union has recently joined model Sharam Diniz for a chat in an Instagram Live session, and broke down the real reason why many black entertainers also felt the impact of the global crisis.
"For most certainly black entertainers, black 'celebrities' we don't really," the 47-year-old actress began sharing her thought, "for all of the Oprahs and the people who have just a lot a lot a lot a lot of money - most of us are one or two checks away from not having money to pay for all of our things, you know what I mean? So this stoppage of work and money is impacting marginalized 'celebrities' the most."
The former "America's Got Talent" judge went on to remind others that while many influencers seemed to have lived a perfect life, they "may not have a lot of liquid income." She elaborated further, "So if you don't have the opportunity to do all the things you need to do to be the influencer, your money's funny. And if your money is funny, you don't have much of anything."
During the discussion, the actress wife of former NBA player Dwyane Wade stressed on the need to understand the major difference between being famous and having money. "I think this quarantine is really revealing a lot in terms of - there's a lot of people who are famous that don't have wealth," she pointed out.
Gabrielle later turned to Twitter to make sure others do not take her statement out of context. "DEFINITELY not comparing struggles," she noted. "The question that was asked if you watch the whole thing was SPECIFICALLY about how this is impacting Hollywood/Black Hollywood. I have been at every level of the game so I speak from personal experience. That is all. But let's discuss."
The "L.A.'s Finest" actress added in another tweet, "The average SAG (actor union) actor makes around 54k a year, while VAST MAJORITY make less than 1k a year from acting work. If we just look at Black actors those #s go down even further. Lets keep talking. Share your stories. Every actor whose name you recognize started somewhere."
