Gabrielle Union stands up for Colin Kaepernick

March 2016. Gabrielle Union at a screening of "Confirmation." (Reuters)

During the Q&A portion of last night’s second screening at TIFF, “Birth of a Nation” co-star and outspoken critic of Nate Parker’s rape allegations, Gabrielle Union invoked the spirit of change and put Colin Kaepernick on the same pedestal as Nate Turner.

“If you are wondering about Colin Kaepernick and his stand for equality and if he’s on the right side of history,” she said, “there’s nothing more patriotic than resistance.”

Kaepernick, the San Francisco 49er’s quarterback, has come under the limelight for his refusal to stand during the National Anthem at recent NFL games.

Union – who was violently raped 24 years ago and only recently found out about her director’s history with sexual violence – didn’t seem to show any tension between the two on stage last night as he went down the line and hugged each one of his cast members in attendance.

Union had written an Op-Ed for the Los Angeles Times in which she publicly acknowledge Parker’s rape allegations, their seriousness and admitted her state of confusion amidst the entire matter.

“I think one of the beautiful things we can all relate to Nate…. uh Nat…,” she stuttered during last night’s Q&A, “is that we’re all capable of evolution.”

She continued: “Nat Turner was firmly committed tot his faith, but it was s faith that enforced and encourage his subservience and of those that looked like him. And until he knew better, he didn’t do better. Once he knew better, it started in him a fire that he refused to extinguish that carries on to this day.

That is why everyone up here is up on his stage – because it’s about personal evolution. Did I leave this job in a better place than when I started? I was firmly committed to not the best projects, now I can’t go back. (Laughter and cheers).

When we commit to evolution and humble ourselves and realize that we don’t have all the answers, that the things that we’ve firmly rooted ourselves in may not be the right course, you may not be on the right side of history – it’s okay to be like, “I was wrong. I’m going to step in another direction. (Cheers).”