-Our next guest is a talented actress
you know from her work in "Bring It On",
"Being Mary Jane," and "The Inspection."
She stars in the third season of "Truth Be Told,"
which is streaming on Apple TV+,
with new episodes released on Fridays.
Let's take a look.
-The superintendent shut me down from asking questions at school
or even acknowledging anything's wrong.
All the memorials around town, they're all for Emily.
It's like Drea didn't even exist.
I need to act.
♪♪
-You are.
With those bright young minds you mold.
-Well, what use are their minds
if I can't keep their bodies safe?
-Please welcome back to the show Gabrielle Union, everyone!
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
It's so wonderful to have you back.
-Thank you. That was a very warm welcome.
-Yeah, it's a very warm crowd tonight.
-Yes. -This is --
It's a very intense show.
This is the third season of a show.
Octavia Spencer plays a crime podcaster.
You play a principal in an area
where there's a lot of kids being trafficked.
It must be a very intense thing to take on.
-Incredibly intense. -And how was the --
I know you've worked with Octavia Spencer before.
That must make it a little easier
to take on material like this.
-Yeah, there's no way I could do this show without Octavia.
We have been friends literally forever.
Over -- well over 20 years.
'Cause it's crazy 'cause we're only 27.
[ Laughter ] But we've friends for so long.
We started on a show called "City of Angels."
-Oh, yeah. -And it was me and Octavia
and Viola Davis and Maya Rudolph,
who before she went off to do that show that you guys do.
-It did not go well for her.
-You know, I think it worked out.
-But, yeah, we all met on that show and bonded.
And, you know, from there, that trust grew.
So when she hit me and was like, "I have a great opportunity
for you to join season 3 of 'Truth be Told,'
but it's some really tough material.
But I think you are uniquely prepared for this."
And when I read the script,
I was like, "This is gonna be a gut punch."
Every day, you know, it's gonna be
a little triggering or a lot triggering.
But for the greater good of getting --
like, to create a bigger platform
to let more people know that human trafficking,
sexual trafficking is a global pandemic.
And when Black and Brown girls go missing,
we do not have the resources or the media attention.
And we are often demonized and sort of --
are held complicit in our own abuse.
And just trying to, you know, recenter the focus
on the most marginalized of the marginalized.
-Before you became an actor, you actually were thinking about
being a lawyer. -Yeah.
-Which just seems very similar to what you were just
talking about. How far down the line
did you go with is that? -Well, you know, I, um...
[ Laughter ]
The thing about standardized testing...
[ Laughter ]
I was studying for the LSATs and not doing well at all.
And I got an internship at a modeling agency
at the same time as I was taking these LSATs.
And when my modeling agency, you know, gig internship ended,
they were like, "Would you ever consider
being one of our girls"?
And I'm looking at the LSATs that I'm doing terribly at
or being in a Tupac video, and I was like, "I..."
[ Laughter ]
-I gotta be honest, even if you were crushing the LSATs...
[ Laughter ]
-I'm going with Tupac. -Yeah.
-Yeah. So, I went into the entertainment business,
and I kind of left the dream of law behind.
-Now, you have a 4-year-old,
and I know it's very early to tell, but there maybe
is a bit of entertainer in her.
-Oh, a lot of entertainer in her.
-She gave a -- now, I have a 6-year-old, I have a 4-year-old.
I can't imagine either of them having the wherewithal
or the nerve to give a toast at my birthday party.
But your 4-year-old gave a toast?
-Oh, a full toast. Like, she has --
Like she's Iyanla. So, this is, like --
We're in Africa. It's late.
We're in Tanzania. And she was like,
"Mommy, you are worthy." And I was like...
[ Laughter ]
"How do you know I struggle with feelings of worthlessness?"
[ Laughter ] Like...
But she never turns down -- -On a microphone?
-On a microphone in front of a crowd.
-Planned, or did she just kinda go up and ask the emcee,
"I'd love to say a few words"? -Well, anytime a --
Anytime a microphone comes out, she's like,
"Yes, I'd like to have a word." [ Laughter ]
-And so we're like, "Kaav, what would you like to say?"
And we're thinking it's gonna be
some cutesy toddler "Happy birthday."
But, she was like, "And for my third point..."
[ Laughter ] And she had like, you know,
the Dead Sea Scrolls of points she wanted to make.
But, no, she's very articulate, and she loves to public-speak
and sing and do all the things. -That is a huge thing.
Because I think, even for people --
even for children who to go on to be performers,
they have to get over that public-speaking thing first.
So the fact that she's already there...
-Oh, no, she's ready to do press.
-She's like, "Hey, Seth. Anyway, you are worthy."
[ Laughter ] "For my next song..."
-My kids once very sweetly, right before bed said,
"One day, you'll be worthy, Dad,"
and I thought that was nice. [ Laughter ]
-They said, "One day." -Gives me something to aim for.
-Now, you are married to --
I know he's a former athlete,
but every time I see the two of you together,
I just want to say, "Two fashion icons."
-He's cute. -All right, that's Dwyane Wade.
[ Cheers and applause ]
And, you know, --
And I'm wondering what life --
And I know he's still involved in sports ownership,
but do you, as a family, do you yourself still watch
and root for sports, post-playing career?
-Oh, yes. -All right.
-I have a problem. I become everybody's Mama June.
[ Laughter ]
So, we have, like -- We have a suite at SoFi,
so we watch the Chargers and the Rams.
And I have to say, the Rams with Odell?
All the women in my group chat are like, "I am a Rams fan."
[ Laughter ]
But, I'm like, "Girl, you are an Odell fan."
No one comes that early.
But they're like, "He's stretching."
[ Laughter ] "Get those hammies, Odell."
But, yeah. But this year, not as much.
And I grew up in the Bay Area.
I'm from Omaha, Nebraska, where we don't have
a professional team. -Yeah.
-But everyone's Cornhusker fans.
But growing up in the Bay Area, you're a 49er fan.
So we've been watching the 49ers.
-That's nice, to have a rooting interest
going into championship weekend. That's a nice feeling.
-Well, again, with the group chat.
So, apparently, the group chat is all --
throwing all of our weight behind Jalen Hurts.
-Oh, interesting. He's the handsome this year?
-Apparently, he is. He -- He does well for himself.
[ Laughter ]
I'd like to go home to a happy home,
so I'm not gonna comment there. [ Laughter ]
But the streets are saying... -The streets.
Look, you're hearing things, you're not saying things.
You're hearing things.
-For the older kids, he's like the new Warren Moon.
[ Laughter ]
-For the way older kids, or I guess just me.
-You got me. -I got you. I totally --.
And you mentioned you're from Omaha, and a big family.
-Very big. -So a lot of family
still in Omaha. -Yeah.
The bulk of our family is still in Omaha.
We have the largest Black family in the state of Nebraska.
-Oh, my goodness. Congratulations.
-I don't know how hard that is. [ Scattered applause ]
-Okay. [ Both laugh ]
-But one of the largest in the Midwest.
And this -- this last summer,
we had our 105th annual family reunion.
-105th annual fam-- That is an incredible number.
-Yes, we're called the Dozens of Cousins.
-Dozens of Cousins. -Yeah, the Bryant-Fisher family.
-Now, you're doing something that I find --
I actually find very impressive and I hope does not come to pass
for 50 years from now. -Uh-oh.
-You are planning your own funeral.
-Oh, yes. -Okay. This is something --
-You have to. -When did you decide
to start putting the planning into it?
-Going to a lot of bad funerals, and it's...
-Yeah. [ Laughter ]
-It's kind of like when me and my husband were getting married,
like, the couple summers before we got married,
we were at -- at other people's weddings,
like, "Not that, never that, nope, nope, nope."
So it led me to, like, think, "I feel like I need to plan
my funeral down to, like, the smallest detail."
So I've chosen all of the sexiest photos.
I don't want like -- If I die at 88,
I don't want to be 88 on the program.
You give me -- You give me my thirst traps.
[ Laughter ]
All my best material.
But, like, I've got playlists that they have.
Like, food. Like, I want a good funeral.
-That's great. -Yeah.
-And now, when you mention a playlist,
are you constantly editing it? -You have to.
-If you hear a new banger, are you like,
"Oh, that's gotta be..." -Now we have a lot of Beyoncé
from the latest. -Yeah.
-You have to constantly update. -Do you let her know?
Are you like, "Good news. You're on of my funeral mix."
-Listen, when I showed up at her birthday, and I'm like,
"It's a circle of life, and I just want you to know
that when it's the end for me, you'll also be there."
[ Laughter ]
-That does seem like a thing that might be hard to hear,
which is like, "I'm gonna play you at my funeral."
[ Laughter ] But there you go.
I think that's very nice that you put that work into it
because I think that -- you know, obviously,
when that happens, you, for your loved one
that recently passed, you want to make sure
you do it the way they did. -And I think we think
we are closer to people than we actually are.
-Yeah. -Have you ever heard yourself
described by a family member?
And you're like, "Do you know me?"
-Yeah. [ Laughter ]
-Like, at what point do you know me?
-I know, based on what I've heard,
your daughter will be there being like, "She was worthy."
[ Laughter ]
You know what? That's what you should do.
You should also write the speeches people give
at your funeral. Just like, "Don't go off book."
-Yeah, like, "I've prepared some remarks."
[ Laughter ] Read that.
-Thank you so much for being here.
It's always such a pleasure to see you.
You guys, that's Gabrielle Union.
"Truth Be Told" is streaming on Apple TV+
with new episodes released on Fridays.
We'll be right back with more "Late Night."