Gabrielle Union Recalls ‘Terrifying’ 2019 Encounter With Racists in Croatia

While speaking to People, Gabrielle Union recounted an incident that she also tells in her new memoir, You Got Anything Stronger?, where she and some friends were racially profiled and intimidated during a 2019 trip to Croatia. 

Union said that her group was initially visiting some of the tourist sites in Dubrovnik, Croatia. “We wanted to recreate Cersei’s steps from Game of Thrones,” she began. Union then explained how when the small group went to a bar, they immediately realized it was full of Jim Crow and Neo-Nazis memorabilia, and that the patrons inside did not want them there. Union says once her group left, some people from the bar continued to follow them down the street.

“I’ve never experienced that level of hatred and the threat of physical violence,” she said. “It was such a jolt. And the fear and adrenaline of what happened left us all numb.”

Union continued by highlighting that while this situation was excessively aggressive, it was not isolated. She recognized how in this country, microaggressions and other forms of racism are still very prominent.

“To go through every instance is to take you through every day of my life,” she said. “There are microaggressions and there are all out assaults. That’s what it is to be a person of color in this country. We think we’re post racial but we’re not. And that is beyond disappointing. I don’t think people understand the violence that comes with racism, whether it’s if you’re being chased or you’re having to watch someone wear blackface to collect a paycheck. It’s violent.”