Gabrielle Union: “I Was Raped At 19 Years Old”

In 1992, at age 19, Gabrielle Union was attacked, beaten and raped at her part-time job in a shoestore. Her attacker later turned himself in and was sentenced to 33 years in prison. The actress recently took to her blog to speak on the gang rape story that took place in Richmond:
So as I’m on the way to shoot Chelsea Lately…I’m sad more than anything. After googling the gang rape story in Richmond and reading comments on blogs, it just leaves me sickened and really sad. The fact that race and socio-economics have been used to explain away a brutal gang rape…just sad…maybe I just have seen every kind of rapist and survivor….every race, color, religion, socio-economic status group…it’s all the same…a lack of regard for violence against women. Tolerated, and in this case encouraged by the mob surrounding the perps…laughing, joking and taking pics.
When I was 19 years old, I was raped. I was working at a shoe store in California, and the store was robbed. The person robbing the store ended up putting a gun to my head and raping me. As he was raping me, I felt as though I was floating over myself, thinking, ‘This isn’t happening.’ I blanked out and had an out-of-body experience, like I was hovering above seeing this horrible thing happen to someone else…not me. I was fortunate enough to go the UCLA rape crisis center after this horrific ordeal. It gave me my life back. My dignity and self-esteem were gone and they helped me find them again. That’s why I now lobby for state legislatures across the country and the federal government to help raise funds and awareness for rape crisis centers, and I speak to all different kinds of people across the country about what happened to me. My goal is to never hear the words ‘me too’ from someone after I say ‘I was raped.’
Gabrielle Union: “Oral Sex Is Recession Proof”
Take a look at our Gabrielle Union gallery:
Gabrielle Union & Dwyane have another date night
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Comments 54
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Jahz_Lynx1
11-21-2009 4:10 pm
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TOTALBODYIMAGE
11-15-2009 12:24 am
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Jahz_Lynx1
11-11-2009 5:41 pm
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Diary_Of_A_Hustler
11-11-2009 1:25 am
« Previous 1 2 3Jahz_Lynx1
@ Body Image: I did not say she wasn’t sexually assaulted. Please note that. I’ll restate my position that the reporting sounds contrived. For example, she gives credit to Oprah for helping her gain the trust of the rapist. Rape isn’t about trust. It’s about control. Date rape is about misappropriated trust. Being held up at a shoe store is totally different. Secondly, she had the gun and a nutted perp and she missed that shot? Did the gun only have one bullet? At that point she had all the control, esp. if his pants were around his knees. Oh yeah, he asked her for his gun? I’ll admit there a dumb criminals out there but the first shot should have been a warning that his sack of nuts were going to be cracked by high velocity. I don’t believe there is any man who would fight a woman who has a gun pointed at his nuts. Mentally, fight or flight is going to kick in and flight would win that brief discussion hands down. But maybe she was distracted because she was thinking about Oprah.
TOTALBODYIMAGE
TO ALL YOU PEOPLE, SAYING THAT GABRIELLE WAS NOT RAPED—-WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? WERE YOU THERE??? SUCH IGNORANCE!
Jahz_Lynx1
Is she for real? I have some problems w/this rape tale b/c w/robbery usally perps get in, get the money, and run the hell out. Rape adds time to the job, and if the guy nuts he’s spent.
Her 2006 account sounds like an Oxygen channel plot. “Thank God for Oprah because her words helped me live.” Union is convinced Oprah’s advice helped her stay calm enough to win the rapist’s trust, which she used to turn the tables on her attacker. She adds, “At some point he put the gun down and calmly asked me to hand him the gun and, at that point, I was like, ‘Oh, it’s me or you, and it ain’t gonna be me today. I’m about to kill you.’ I grabbed the gun, I spun around and did the best I could trying to kill him.” The actress missed her attacker when she shot at him and this led to a fight for the gun, which left her black and blue. The rapist fled and later turned himself in to police after another rape attack.”
This is confusing. Why did he turn himself in? Because he raped somebody else?
Thanks a bunch Gabby for all the crisis work at rape shelters. But, “My goal is to never hear the words ‘me too’ from someone after I say ‘I was raped.’” is unrealistic, that behavior goes back to the cave man.
This all sounds like PR to me. Sorry I’m not more sympathetic. I got my own rape stories to tell so it’s not like I can’t feel for the victim. Men and women can become victims of rape, so watch yourself.
Diary_Of_A_Hustler
Smh @ msveevee1- Def don’t know where you get ya statistics from but please your def not educated because that’s some bulls**t. If 98% of men are rapists then every dude in ya fam are 2. and If you have sons I feel sorry for you cause they might just rape ya ass. Smh! Dumb B***h!