‘Being Mary Jane’ Star Gabrielle Union Discusses Sexual Assault, #MeToo Twitter Movement

After undergoing her own experience of sexual assault, actress Gabrielle Union has come forward to reflect on her traumatic situation once again while recognizing that she is in a unique position that allows her to give victims a voice.

The “Being Mary Jane” star, who was raped at gunpoint at the age of 19, appeared on “Good Morning America” on Tuesday. During the interview, the BET star told host Robin Roberts just how surprised she was that there are an overwhelming amount of people who have gone through something similar to her situation.

The actress revealed that she saw #MeToo trending on Twitter and it brought back her post-traumatic stress syndrome. “My arm went numb,” she said.

“I thought it was all about me and when I realized literally hundreds of thousands of people, men and women, [were] talking about being a part of this unfortunate club ... it just rips your heart out.”

Union was sexually assaulted while working at a Payless shoe store. In a tweet, the star explained that a stranger raped her and robbed the store. She added that a female, who she considered to be a friend, asked her what she was wearing during the time of the attack.

“You see so much now with victim-blaming and victim-shaming and really trying to put the onus on the victim and trying to say that there’s some right way to deal with trauma. I just have to keep speaking out to dispel as many misconceptions as possible about sexual violence,” she told the host.

The #MeToo hashtag has been used by women and men to share their stories of sexual harassment after several Hollywood actress came forward and accused movie producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct.

Although the rep for the producer has denied these allegations, it hasn’t stopped individuals from telling their stories.

Union explained that she had high hopes that she wouldn’t have to hear about others talk about sexual assault but quickly realized that she was not alone in her experience. “For 20 years now, I’ve been trying to tell my story as honestly as possible and basically with the goal of never having to hear ‘me too’ ever again,” she told Roberts.

“And I talk about that in my book, so it was wild the other night to see #MeToo trending,” she added.

The “We’re Gonna Need More Wine” author insisted that she had no intention of remaining silent about sexual assault and plans to fight against those who are ignorant to its effects on the victims. “I will continue to keep talking about it. I will continue to keep educating,” she said.

Over the weekend, Union defended those who were receiving backlash for choosing to wait to share their story. “Ppl remain silent 4 many different very personal reasons. Judgment, victim shaming/blaming, loss of job/$, fear of violence, retaliation,” she tweeted.

Union continues to voice her opinions on sexual assault through interviews and her Twitter page while also sharing articles and videos on other important topics that need a voice.