Bring It On's Gabrielle Union gives props to Cheer's season 2 breakout star

Gabrielle Union found herself reflecting on her days in Bring It On while watching Cheer on Netflix. One of its breakout stars from season 2, in particular, was giving her the feels.

The actress penned a thoughtful message about Jada Wooten, captain of the Trinity Valley Community College cheerleading squad, which was more prominently documented in the sophomore season of the hit docuseries.

"When I watched season 2 of Cheer I was drawn immediately to @jadawooten_ and what I saw was a passionate, fiery, super professional LEADER," Union wrote in the note published on her social media channels Wednesday night. "What I saw was a woman unafraid to say the hard thing, to be real and authentic and never asking her teammates to do anything she wasn't willing to do herself."

Watching Wooten's "talent combined with her no BS attitude" made Union think back to her time on the set of Bring It On. In the movie, which also starred Kirsten Dunst, Union plays Isis, captain of the East Compton Clovers cheerleaders, who are sick and tired of the predominantly white Rancho Carne High squad stealing their routines and winning trophies for it.

Union told Good Morning America in an interview in September, just over two decades after the movie came out, that she had regrets about how she played Isis.

"I chose respectability and to be classy and take the high road because I felt like that would make her be appropriate — the right kind of Black girl," she said at the time. "Black girls aren't allowed to be angry — certainly not demonstratively angry — and I muzzled her."

In Wooten, Union sees "a young woman who seems to be suffering consequences for being a passionate athlete in a way the other girls who expressed themselves, similarly, have not."

"I see a woman that understands her worth and refuses the constant shape shifting to appease folks who find unapologetic Black women to be inappropriate," the actress writes. "I see a woman who inspires, uplifts, teaches, and WINS!! Thank you for being the kind of young woman we can ALL look up to and cheer for."

Wooten became a standout personality in Cheer season 2. She wasn't afraid to correct negative attitudes or call out mistakes, nor was she afraid to show her emotion in front of her teammates. Many fans connected with Wooten's uplifting story and the obstacles she overcame.

"While others might misconstrue her passion for attitude, I believe it is something that will take her far as not only a leader but also allow her to build character as she gets older," Union adds of Wooten. "And if you've seen Cheer this season, you know it is that exact passion that helped lead her team to victory. Let us lift her up in the light of goodness and hold her there."

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