One thing we’ve all realized about Gabrielle Union by now is that she will speak her mind, and she won’t care what you think about it. During a recent sit-down on the “Keep It!” Podcast, the actress spoke about recently criticizing Disney for the company’s lack of response to Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis signing the Parental Rights In Education bill last year.
Disney+ released a trailer for ‘Cheaper by the Dozen,’ a fresh take on the 2003 hit family comedy starring Gabrielle Union and Zach Braff pic.twitter.com/QwS96DyTS5
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 7, 2022
The bill, which many people have called “Don’t Say Gay,” now prohibits teachers from teaching children about sexual orientation or gender identity “in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate.”
Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek later apologized in an email to employees for the company’s “painful” silence following the signing of the controversial bill, and Union was one of the celebrities who took serious issue with it, saying corporations should take a stand. And though Disney has apologized, Union’s views haven’t changed.
“They might murder off my character in Cheaper by the Dozen,” she said, referring to her role as Zoey Baker in the Disney+ flick. “The sequel [might be], ‘Zoey has died in a tragic accident.’ The reality is, I don’t know — I will never know how my name is spoken of in rooms due to me telling the truth, right? I have no idea.”
Union says that even if that were to happen, there are other companies who are willing to continue working with her where her opinion won’t be silenced. “I tell the truth, and I will not be held back by fear [of taking] my career away,” The 50-year-old recently expressed how proud she was of the recent film she made with Disney “because we actually say gay.”
SHE DID THAT: Gabrielle Union is starring in the new @Disney’s ‘Cheaper by the Dozen’ movie, so she goes to the Disney movie premiere & called Disney out on the red carpet for supporting & funding this anti-LGBTQ #DontSayGay bill. Legendary! Iconic! Thank you! @ItsGabrielleU pic.twitter.com/qw1H8UXr6i
— Jerome Trammel, MBA (@MrJeromeTrammel) March 17, 2022
While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the California native said that hearing about the controversial bill being legalized didn’t shock her because she’s a Black woman living in America. “Nothing shocks me,” Union assured. “But the fear that gripped me because I know what this leads to.”
Union’s issue with Disney was that the company says they are all about inclusion and diversity but remained silent when the bill was signed. Union vocalized her thoughts on the issue because she didn’t feel as if Disney was putting their money where their mouth is because “you can’t stand against hate and oppression and fund hate and oppression.”