Rihanna has received heavy flack from critics for her “Man Down” video, which shows her shooting a man who raped her, but the provocative singer has now gained the support of actress Gabrielle Union, who recently defended Rihanna’s controversial video.
According to E! Online, the story began last week when Union took to Twitter to ask fans for ideas on how to better combat violence against women and children. One fan in particular asked Union how she felt about Rihanna’s “Man Down” video, prompting the actress, who hadn’t yet seen the video, to give it a viewing.
“I haven’t seen it yet. I’ll let everyone know my thoughts on it when I do,” tweeted Union.
Days later, Union took to Twitter, once again, and gave a candid response to the initial tweet, sharing painful details of her own rape at the age of 19 and revealing for the first time that she tried to shoot her attacker.
“Saw ‘Man Down‘ by @rihanna. Every victim/survivor of rape is unique, including how they THINK they’d like justice 2 be handed out,” she tweeted. “During my rape I tried 2 shoot my rapist, bt I missed. Over the yrs I realized tht killin my rapist would’ve added insult 2 injury.The DESIRE 2 kill someone whose abused/raped u is understandable, bt unless its self defense n the moment 2 save ur life, just ADDS 2 ur troubles #mandown.”
After Union’s shared her revealing account with fans, more questions about the attack began to flow in and Union continued answering honestly about her own ordeal.
“Stranger who robbed the store I worked at,” she said, identifying her rapist. “He put his gun dwn durin the rape & asked me 2 [hand] it 2 him.”
Union then applauded Rihanna’s video for helping to start a national conversation about domestic and intimate partner violence.
“#Mandown video did a GREAT job of getting the ENTIRE world TALKING abt RAPE,” she tweeted. “I hope tht it leads 2 HEALING & PREVENTS RAPE,” tweeted Union.
It seems like, with the help of one inquisitive fan, Union finally found the answer to her question.
–nicholas robinson
