Gabrielle Union is a Hollywood staple. From her early noughties breakout in Bring It On to her current-day leading lady roles, the 50-year-old has long paid her dues and is calling the shots. Case in point, Gabrielle will next star in the new Netflix romantic comedy, The Perfect Find, which she has also co-produced alongside a very talented team that includes director Numa Perrier.
The movie, based on the 2016 book of the same name by author Tia Williams, sees a forty-year-old woman put everything on the line for a secret romance with her boss' much younger son.
The movie questions whether a woman can have it all or do some things have to give. Well, Gabrielle certainly has a thing or two to say about it in our exclusive interview with GLAMOUR UK.
Known for her refreshing candour, the movie star also discusses how women are uniting together to fight pay inequalities that have long plagued Hollywood while also addressing her take on the viral social media backlash to her recently stating that she splits bills 50/50 with her husband, Dwyane Wade. Spoiler: she was taken aback by people's input on how bills should be paid in her household and "what people think she deserves". Keep scrolling to read more of what Gabrielle had to say on the matter…
The Perfect Find touches on relevant issues regarding women in today's society. Firstly, her younger love interest is her boss' son, who she doesn't get on with. What did this tell you about how/if women are still pitted against each other in the workplace?
It's not the same as when I started [in the industry], where they were openly pitting you against someone. So you were more focused on a person rather than the institution, the latter which had plenty of opportunity to satisfy everyone's endeavours. Actively trying to turn you against your fellow actresses made you forget that this is an industry issue. No woman is spending her days like, "How can I screw this person over?" We're all just trying to feed our families and live the dream. More recently, we've been made aware of the dirty tricks used to divide and conquer, and we're more aligned to stand together. The level of support is unlike anything we've ever seen in Hollywood history.
How far has the level of support and sisterhood come within the black female community?
In the last ten-plus years, we've seen that if you mess with one, you mess with all. Any time I faced a challenge, I've not faced it alone. A perfect example is what happened to Nicole Beharie and how our community is standing up for her since word started leaking years ago when she was still filming [for the series Sleepy Hollow]. I can only speak towards the Black creative community because it's different, but we won't let one woman stand against the machine.
In The Perfect Find, your character is romancing a younger man. Overall, large age-gap relationships are taboo. What do you make of this?
I think there's a power inequity I'd feel uncomfortable with if one of our kids came home with a much older suitor. I'd have many questions, like "What's it about a child who has not experienced much of life that is appealing?" I think it's when it feels a little predatory, it probably is. But I'm also an older woman with a younger man. Me and my husband are nine years apart, and honestly, I didn't take him seriously for a long time. But when I got to know him, I learned he left home at fifteen. Our lives were more similar than dissimilar because what he survived forced him to be an adult earlier. It's on an individual basis.
What a dose of nostalgia.
The Perfect Find also begs the question, can a woman have it all? A career, a social life, a romance, and children...
Yes, absolutely! It's just understanding that your all will lead to deficiency somewhere. There are only so many hours in the day, so some parts of your life will be out of whack. You can have it all if you manage expectations and redefine what joy, protection and safety are to you. You want to be a career woman, have a great relationship, be a parent, have a dream house, and travel? Ma'am, let's look at the clock. It's hard. We have expectations of our parents, our children, of literal strangers, and we set people up for failure. We don't even reach those high expectations we set for ourselves. We're constantly in a state of disappointment. You see the consequences when your kids might ask for quality time, and you're like, "S***. There are only 24 hours in a day. I got to rejigger."
What have been the primary setbacks you've personally had in your career, if any, and how did you overcome them?
I'm not unique in this, but I've dealt with gross inequities in pay. Men to women, white women to Black women, white women to Latinx women, white women to all women of colour, and white men versus all women of colour. I started asking, "How much are you making because this is how much I'm making."
With a friend of mine, they were trying to screw her over on the rate she had earned doing overtime and were trying to pay another actress more than her, even though it was her project. She stood up for herself and said, "If I'm not going to be paid fairly, I'm passing." When they came to me, I asked twice what she asked for. Then, I called the person I knew who was next in line, and they did the same until we were in alignment. They had to go back to the woman whose job they were trying to screw over and had to pay her even more than she asked for the first time. You deal with it as a united front until everyone understands they can't take us out as a group. If you stand in solidarity, you fall for nothing. I had to step out on faith because, s***, we all need money, but we also don't need a cheque so badly that we're willing to throw another woman under the bus.
Absolutely! Being an influential and candid figure, you recently spoke about splitting everything 50/50 with your husband, Dwyane Wade, regarding finances, prompting a social media debate. What did you make of it?
At first, it was hilarious to me. They know I don't pay their bills, I'm talking about myself? It was such a nothing burger when I said it, and the conversation was about the stress you're under when you're the answer to everyone's problems as a sole individual.
But the more me and D talked about it, we were like, "Where's the debate?" First of all, you're not in our house. But it's also from people who've never been in this position of being the answer to everyone's problems and me understanding that I support 100% of three additional households outside of this one. Going half on all the big things, A: brings me joy. I wouldn't consent to any other adult taking care of me in that way completely. That is uncomfortable for me. Also, B, it feels good to have one person in your life meeting you halfway and willing to be your partner in problem-solving. It's also easier to have that kind of arrangement when you're aware that the other person is completely capable of handling all of it, and he knows that of me. Now, my handling of all of it may not last as long as his, but he knows, "Listen, I got it. I've saved my entire career, I can cover us for however long we need to." But, this idea that if he buys a sack of Doritos, he's hunting me down in our house for half of the bag...
Also, the notion that I'm stupid for not allowing a wealthy man to pay for my whole life and the children we're responsible for together? That was interesting. Listen, you want to fleece as many people as possible? I don't give a s***. Also, why would you want to deny me the pride of ownership? I'm a proud union member. I come from a long line of people who worked. I'd have to consent to allow someone to pay for my life. The notion that he should fly over my lack of consent and just do it feels... tricky. I don't know the right word, I don't know if it's misogynistic.
I want to be in complete control of all my f***-yous. I need a healthy basket of f*** you, f*** you, f*** you. For me, having economic power and autonomy allows me to have endless f***-yous. I'll fight for that until I have no breath left. It's interesting that anyone would care how we pay bills because it has no bearing on them.
Off the back of that, what is your relationship with social media?
For our minor children, they aren't in control of their social media. For our adult children, it's been trial and error. Trust is tricky in this generation, you're going to find out quickly who you can trust and who you can't. They found that out quickly because none of them had complete control of their social media until they became adults. As a family, we had too much to lose, we needed to ensure we had constant supervision. Now, did the older kids know that? No, they didn't. They forgot that we had set up their accounts as gifts. So they had no idea we were monitoring their DMs and everything else. You got to do what you got to do. Social media is also great for knowing what's happening in my household. I communicate more with our kids via social media than just text. They answer DMs way faster!
Lastly, your docuseries, "My Journey to 50", is coming out, in which you travel across Africa and learn about your heritage. How did it feel filming it?
I'm diving into the next fifty years head first! I want to know myself on a deeper level so I can know who I want to be for the next stage of my life. I went on the journey embracing all the knowledge and wisdom that the continent offers. Also, hoping to encourage people to make this journey on their own, or at least to do their research on their own, because we have absolutely been lied to about so many parts of the world as Americans. We will have to do our own supplemental educating of ourselves, our families, our friends, and our communities. The docuseries was strangely emotional and poignant at the same time.
Catch Gabrielle Union in The Perfect Find, out on 23 June on Netflix.
Enough is enough.
