Gabrielle Union is a super successful actor, author, model and advocate for survivors of sexual assault. She also happens to be married to NBA star Dwyane Wade, but she’s the first to point out that her relationship status is not headline-worthy.
On Monday, South Florida news station WSVN 7 News tweeted a story about 45-year-old Union and 36-year-old Wade donating $200,000 USD to the student-run gun control rally March For Our Lives. The problem? WSVN tagged Wade, but referred to Union only as his “wife.”
.@DwyaneWade, wife donates $200,000 to student-ran gun control rally https://t.co/QbVLh5kUXi pic.twitter.com/s6XULzRrQW
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) March 12, 2018
Union, who has been outspoken about gender equality in the past, retweeted the news story and called out the sexist headline: “When they let you know what they think of you. I have a name.” Soon, other Twitter users pointed out how ridiculous it was for WSVN to refer to Union—who currently stars in BET’s Being Mary Jane—without mentioning her name.
When they let you know what they think of you. I have a name. https://t.co/EONnNVxCNV
— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) March 12, 2018
Wife? You mean Gabrielle Union the famous actress who has been acting for 18 years, has millions of followers on social media and is starring in a thriller coming out in May which is being released by Universal Pictures? https://t.co/NzMXksJ2Qb
— Yashar Ali (@yashar) March 12, 2018
“Majorly accomplished actress and model, Gabrielle Union donates $200,000 to gun control rally” sounds way better to me anyway
— Akilah Hughes (@AkilahObviously) March 12, 2018
Some even highlighted that Union is arguably more well-known than her husband, who plays for basketball team Miami Heat.
I *only* know who Wade is because he’s Gabrielle Union’s husband
— Nora Kelly (@nora_kelly) March 13, 2018
With all due respect to your husband, I knew of you years before I knew of him.
— dmbmeg (@dmbmeg) March 12, 2018
Eventually, WSVN responded to Union and apologized. They also changed their headline to “Dwyane Wade, Gabrielle Union donate $200,000 to student-run gun control rally” and retweeted the story with the new headline. Hopefully WSVN learned a lesson: it’s not cool to refer to a woman only as someone’s wife—especially when that woman is powerhouse Gabrielle Union.
Related:
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Gabrielle Union on #MeToo: “I Think the Floodgates Have Opened for White Women”
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