Gabrielle Union has claimed that the directors of the fan-favorite film “Bring It On” added fake scenes to the trailer to create the illusion that the Black cheer squad team was in the film more than it actually was.
The 50-year-old made this revelation during an interview with Noah Callahan-Bever on “IDEA GENERATION,” a weekly interview show on the Bloomberg Quicktake streaming network.
The 2000 film about high-school cheerleading competitions starred Union and actress Kirsten Dunst as the team leaders of competing cheer squads. Union was the leader of the all-Black squad known as the East Compton Clovers.
Dunst represented the Rancho Carne Toros, which learned as the team prepared to compete in the national competition that its ex-captain had been stealing routines from the Clovers.
The film focuses on Dunst’s character and her team members, but Union told Callahan-Bever that “fake” scenes that were created for the “Bring It On” trailer suggest otherwise.
“What was interesting is the Clovers were only in like a third of the movie, and when they started showing it to test audiences, the Clovers tested through the roof,” Union said at the 12:35 mark of the interview. “They were like, ‘We need more with the Clovers but we can’t add it to the movie.’ “
Related: Gabrielle Union Shares Shocking Secret about ‘Bring it On’
Union added the filmmakers shot “fake” scenes that were included in the film’s trailer instead to create the illusion that the Black cheer squad was in the movie equally with the mostly white cheer squad.
“We’re going to shoot scenes, fake scenes, that will only be in the trailer to create the illusion that it was like a 50-50 movie. But what’s interesting is, the people spoke. When the people spoke, they were like OK we got to deliver on – at least fake deliver. And the rest is kind of history. It’s wild to me.”
“Bring It On” was a huge success, earning $90.5 million at the box office and leading to five spinoff movies. Despite the ‘fake’ trailer scenes, the first film addressed cultural appropriation, and Union noted the movie represents “young Black girls” who refused to back down.
“I think it’s just what the movie represents,” Union said, “bada– young Black girls who refuse to take s–t and never back down. It still appeals to me to this day.”
Fans reacted to the news about the added trailer scenes on social media. One fan recalled memories of watching scenes with the Clovers being filmed.
“I was in Oceanside, California, in 1999 when they were filming some of the scenes for this. I remember seeing a lot of the Clovers cast on the pier. I really thought they would focus more on the Clovers too, and was disappointed when the movie came out.”
“The movie should have been about the Clovers,” added one user.
“Sheeeesh. I just saw at least 3 Clovers ‘scenes’ that were never in the movie,” replied one fan.
“Yo, the disrespect! The only thing they got right was that the Clovers won,” noted another Twitter user. “The way the film tried to paint the toros as the underdogs bc they now had to earn their win was infuriating. Steady stealing and still rewarded. Hmm.”
In addition to her comments regarding “Bring It On,” Union also spoke about her days as a struggling actress and her advocacy work.
