Gabrielle Union Debuts Short Hairstyle Change to Rave Reviews

Gabrielle Union is making the most of Hot Girl Summer, and she premiered an empowering new haircut on Instagram with lots of support from her followers. She showed off the summer chop in her latest post and explained that she had very good reasons for the dramatic new look. "So, I did a thing," Union wrote. "The movies always show women cutting their hair when all is lost but I wanted to know the feeling of making a change when things are gravy. It hits different and its foreign to me but I [three black heart emojis] this new new."

Union's celebrity followers sounded off in the comments section, sharing their love for her bold new look. Tia Mowry and Tracee Ellis Ross posted enthusiastic emojis, while Scandal star Kerry Washington wrote "STUNNING XOXOXO." Insecure's Yvonne Orji wrote "Okayyy curls poppin!!" and Regina Hall left three heart emojis in the comments section. It was a lovely show of support from prominent Black women in the entertainment industry that was sure to boost Union's confidence.

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This show of support feels all the more important after Union's issues behind the scenes before she was fired as a judge of America's Got Talent in 2019. Union revealed some casual racism that she faced, often being told that her hairstyles were "too black." She shared a photo montage of the hairstyles that had been deemed unsuitable, showing off high ponytails, blunt bobs, and other fierce looks. "Unapologetically me. Be comfortable and confident with your whole a-- self," she wrote in the caption. "It might give others the fluuuxxx but never stop being you. You can shine on your own terms. And if you got something to say ??‍I dont take notes rooted in anti-blackness. I love me as i am."

Over the last few years, Union has been praised for stepping forward and standing up for herself as she's endured mistreatment on sets in Hollywood, the biggest headliner being her time on America's Got Talent. However, after the recent, highly anticipated Friends reunion on HBO Max, onlookers wondered why she wasn't there after having appeared in Season 7. "That dual consciousness though is what prepares me to go then do an episode of Friends after being on City of Angels," she said in a resurfaced video, talking about her time on the set and how she was spoken down to the entire week.

"Yeah, I'm an actor... didn't have to audition for this job because I was just on a hit show on CBS," she added. The actress claimed the crew would question her knowledge of being on set, even though she had already made a name for herself in Hollywood. Union hasn't stopped sticking up for herself and many others and onlookers are in a standing ovation in support of her.