Bring It On is a cult classic sports film. It follows the Toros, a high school cheer squad, as they battle a rival squad in the National Championships. The film is stacked with star power that is largely split along racial lines. You have the Toros, a predominantly-white squad, facing the Clovers, a predominantly Black squad. There’s even a “white people learn their lesson” ending, with the Clovers winning the championship and Kirsten Dunst, the leader of the Toros, graciously admitting defeat.
Now one of the film’s stars has revealed a shocking secret. Gabrielle Union, who played the captain of the Clovers, has alleged that the production team filmed fake scenes to falsely promote the film’s diversity.
Union Alleges She Filmed “Fake Scenes”
Union has previously claimed that the trailer for Bring It On included “fake” footage of the Clovers. However, the use of trailer-only footage is nothing new for Hollywood. but Union has now taken her allegations a step further while appearing on Bloomberg’s Idea Generation podcast. “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. However, her claims didn’t stop there. “They were like, ‘We need more with The Clovers but we can’t add it to the movie,’” Union continued. “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.” While films like Drumline would later put Black stars in the spotlight, it’s shocking (yet completely unsurprising) to see the lengths Hollywood would go to fake diversity. And yet, the film’s premise (white people stealing from Black performers) and the meta example of that also is part of the appeal for Union. “I think it’s just what the movie represents,” Union said. “Badass young Black girls who refuse to take shit and never back down. It still appeals to me to this day.”
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