*Gabrielle Union talks Hollywood, marriage, motherhood, politics and sports in the November issue of ESSENCE. The “Being Mary Jane” star also shares a bit of wisdom on why she’s comfortable sharing the spotlight.
“I’m at an age where my ego doesn’t live and die by how many lines I have,” says the 43-year-old beauty, who’s rocking Lanvin, Diane von Furstenberg and Michael Kors Collection in her cover story. “There’s more to life than line counting.”
“I don’t just want to be a hired gun. I want to have a little bit more control over the narrative,” she says of her work behind-the-scenes. “The only way I can be empowered to do that is to be a producer. Now with as many projects that will have me, it’s part of the deal.”
Union will be a busier bee when she returns as producer on season four of “Being Mary Jane.”
“For the first time in my whole career, I’ve actually been invited to the writer’s room. I walked in there as if I was meeting the Pope,” says Union.
READ RELATED STORY: Gabrielle Union Goes Makeup-free & Angela Simmons Secretly Wed
In related news, E! News reports that the actress is suing BET and Breakdown Productions for breach of contract and negligent misrepresentation, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
In the court documents, Union’s attorney, Marty Singer, alleges BET is trying to film two 10-episode seasons of “Being Mary Jane” back-to-back in an effort to “cram all of the episodes into a single season in order to fraudulently extend the term of Ms. Union’s contract.”
In a statement to E! News on Gabby’s behalf, Singer says, “We filed this lawsuit because of BET’s outrageous conduct toward its No. 1 star on its highest rated show.”
Meanwhile, when ESSENCE asked about how she’s navigating the world while married to NBA star Dwyane Wade and raising growing Black boys under America’s umbrella of police brutality, she’s says, “Until they walk through the door, I’m terrified,” she says. “Sometimes I just want to stay off my timeline, because it makes those waits until they walk through the door a thousand times worse. One of my biggest fears is them being a hashtag on some bulls—t.”
For more from Union, pick up a copy of the November issue of ESSENCE, on newsstands October 14.
You can catch Gabby on the big screen in the family comedy “Almost Christmas” when it arrives in theaters November 11.
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