Gabrielle Union Bravely Discusses How She Overcame Sexual Assault

Gabrielle Union arrives with a smile for her appearance on The View on Monday morning (February 24) in New York City.

The 41-year-old actress bravely opened up about her sexual assault, which occurred at gunpoint when she was just 19.

“I got sick of people letting me off the hook, because being a victim is so comfortable. People give you attention, people are nurturing – they’re basically the way you’ve always wanted them to be your whole life, without something bad happening,” Gabrielle said (via Popsugar). “I hated feeling like a victim. I hated the cloak of victimhood, and I realized that they were going to allow me to be a victim and not succeed and not achieve any of my goals or not step outside the box. It makes you lazy. And I wanted that cloak of victimhood off.”

Gabrielle continued, “And I was like, I want to embrace being a survivor. Because that’s who I am. I wasn’t raised to be coddled. I was raised to be an independent woman, standing on my own two feet, and that’s the road I opted to take.”

FYI: Gabrielle is wearing a Halston Heritage dress, Kurt Geiger shoes, Melinda Maria and Graziela Gems rings, EF Collection bangles, and Joan Hornig earrings.

15+ pictures inside of Gabrielle Union arriving for The View…