Gabrielle Union: Post Covid era not the time for misogynistic, patriarchal attitude

MUMBAI:  Actress Gabrielle Union feels the post-Covid era will make Hollywood a safer place for women, adding that the focus will not only be on how to stop the spread of the virus but also on stopping the spread of misogyny, patriarchy and white supremacy.

"When we go back to work, the focus is going to be on safety and wellness, and keeping everyone safe. Because we're coming out of the MeToo movement and Time's Up movement, we are not going to sacrifice personal safety in any regard," Gabrielle said while talking about how the industry will change after the virus crisis, and the place of women in the new reality.

"This is certainly not the time to be coming with misogynistic, patriarchal (attitude) (or) sexual harassment, when we're all just trying to get through a work day healthy and safe," she added.

The actress continued: "Because there will be such a focus on making sure that there are healthy distances and proper protocols in place, I think that it will hopefully snuff out those bad characters who not only were putting women's lives and careers (but) wellbeing in danger. It is just going to be so obvious that you cannot ignore it. You will not be able to sweep it under the rug, because our focus will be so much on how we keep everyone safe and healthy."

The actress, who had filed a complaint against producers and the network behind "America's Got Talent" for racism on the set of the reality show, feels since "everything will be under such a microscope it's going to be hard to make sense of all male productions" as well.

"First, I think a lot of those things will be addressed just solely because we are paying so much more attention to keeping each other safe. I don't think we are going to stop at how to stop the virus, but also how do we stop the spread of misogyny, patriarchy and white supremacy and all these other ‘isms'," she added.

At the moment, she is seen in the "Bad Boys" spinoff series "L.A.'s Finest" along with Jessica Alba. She is also backing the show as an executive producer.

Asked about the possibility of local versions of the show all around the world, Gabrielle said: "Jessica (Jessica Alba) and I are a part of creating an independent world that springs from something but can live really anywhere. When you factor in different cultures, lives and realities, you can still plug in different women from all around the world, and have different adventures that can live independently from ‘L.A.'s Finest' just as we live independently from the ‘Bad Boys' universe."

"How awesome would that be to have kicka** pair of women all around the globe, being their full flawed, complicated, multi dimensional selves," she said, while concluding.

The second season of "L.A.'s Finest" airs on Zee Cafe in India.