Gabrielle Union Says Black Entertainers Are Struggling To Pay Bills Amid COVID-19 Crisis
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Gabrielle Union isn’t afraid to speak her mind, and this time she’s talking about how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting black entertainers. Her comments have received some scrutiny on social media, causing her to clarify via Twitter.
During a recent Instagram Live with model Sharam Diniz, Gabrielle said that a lot of black entertainers and influencers are struggling to pay bills as they’re getting less work during the coronavirus crisis.
Gabrielle Union Says Black Entertainers Are Struggling
“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?” Gabrielle said during the Live. “So this stoppage of work and money is impacting marginalized ‘celebrities’ the most.”
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Gabrielle went on to say that a lot of influencers who post about their seemingly lavish lifestyles may not be as wealthy as they seem. “I think a lot of people need to understand the difference between fame and having money,” she said. “And 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.”
The comments received some backlash from people on social media who interpreted it as Gabrielle complaining about rich people not making as much money as before. “We don’t want to hear this shit,” one user wrote.
Considering Gabrielle Union is reportedly worth $20 million, and her husband Dwyane Wade is worth $120 million, we’re going to assume (or at least hope) she’s not talking about herself. However, as one Twitter user pointed out, black actors have been known to make less than their white peers. A 2016 study found this to be the case on television.
Gabrielle Clarifies Her Comments On Twitter
Gabrielle took to Twitter to clarify her comments, saying she was not “comparing struggles.” She added that she’s been “at every level of the game,” so she speaks from “personal experience.”
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She went on to say that many actors in the Screen Actors Guild, especially black actors, make very little money from acting each year. “Every actor whose name you recognize started somewhere,” she said, encouraging people to share their stories.
It’s certainly not the first time Gabrielle as spoken up about issues she cares about. Most notably, she was reportedly fired from her judging job on America’s Got Talent for speaking out against a toxic work environment, including racist comments.
