Gabrielle Union, star of Nate Parker's Birth of a Nation, is a rape survivor

Since finding out about the rape allegations leveled against the director years ago — the 1999 accusations made headlines recently after it was revealed that the accuser committed suicide — she has found herself "in a state of stomach-churning confusion," she writes. "I cannot take these allegations lightly. On that night, 17-odd years ago, did Nate have his date’s consent? It’s very possible he thought he did. Yet by his own admission he did not have verbal affirmation; and even if she never said 'no,' silence certainly does not equal 'yes.'"