Gabrielle Union says that the Bring It On trailer featured fake scenes to fool audiences. Union rose to fame after she starred in the teen cult classic film Bring It On in 2000. The film takes place in San Diego and follows the protagonist, Torrance Shipman (Kirsten Dunst), a senior high school cheerleader who realizes that her squad’s routines are stolen after taking over the role of captain from another cheerleading team. The Clovers, the rival team, is from an underfunded school in East Compton led by Union’s character, Isis, and after learning of her team’s misdeeds, Torrance vows to beat the Clovers fair and square.
The film was a box office hit, grossing over $90 million worldwide. Audiences loved the concept so much that the film garnered five direct-to-video sequel films, one television film, and a staged musical with some lyrics written by Broadway’s it-man, Lin Manuel Miranda. While the first two films shared the same producers, the majority of the crew is different for each film. The only connections are the cheer rivalry between two opposing teams. The original Bring It On was released in the middle of the teen comedy film craze of the 2000s. Many of the sequels are notable for having diverse casts who have successful careers like Gabrielle Union herself.
Gabrielle Union released a TikTok video revealing that scenes were filmed for the Bring It On trailer that were not in the film to fool audiences. The scenes referenced feature the Clovers team in their high school setting of East Compton. They are seen practicing and interacting with male characters who do not appear in the film. Union explains that the scenes were filmed after the film wrapped and were placed in the trailer to make audiences believe the Clovers team was in the movie more than they were.
Once test audiences saw the movie, they wanted more of the Clovers. So we shot these only for the trailer, not the movie, to make people think we were in the movie more than we were.
Since the release of Bring It On, Union has made a name for herself, starring in the BET series, Being Mary Jane. She’s also starred in L.A.’s Finest on Fox with Jessica Alba and will appear in the Cheaper By the Dozen remake later this year. With her tumultuous turn as a judge on America’s Got Talent, Union has consistently advocated for an accurate representation of women of color onscreen. It is no surprise that the underrepresentation of the characters of color in the first Bring It On film has been brought to light.
While the Bring It On films feature many actors of color, all interpretations follow white protagonists, with the characters of color serving as supporting or antagonistic roles. The prominence of POC characters in the trailer but not in the film proves that while audiences are drawn to diverse stories, Hollywood still has a long way to go in terms of telling the stories of people of color. There is clear interest, yet the mainstream lens is still geared towards white audiences and stories. Union’s success as a leading black woman in Hollywood proves the Bring It On series has a widespread audience and fandom. With the popularity of the Netflix series, Cheer, there is a renewed general interest in cheerleading competitions. There is still a chance for a different kind of cheerleading story to be told.
Source: Gabrielle Union/TikTok