Gabrielle Union: I Tried to Shoot My Rapist

Usmagazine Reports:

Gabrielle Union wasn't offended by the violence in Rihanna's "Man Down" video.

In fact, the 38-year-old actress thought the singer's video "did a great job of getting the entire world talking about rape."

PHOTOS: Stars who've survived abuse

"I hope that it leads to healing and prevents rape," Union tweeted Saturday. (Rihanna's video depicts the singer shooting a man for sexually assaulting her.)

Union's very person impetus for discussing the controversial clip: the star herself was a victim of rape at age 19, she revealed. "A stranger who robbed the store I worked at. He put his gun down during the rape and asked me to hand it to him."

When that happened, Union "tried to shoot [her] rapist, but missed."

"Over the years I realized that killing my rapist would've added insult to injury," she mused. "The desire to kill someone who has abused/raped you is understandable, but unless it's self defense in the moment to save your life, it just adds to your troubles."

This a follow-up to my June 3, 2011 post . I am glad Gabrielle Union spoke out and is keeping it real about the emotions that rape victims go through. It is easy for people to say what they would do if they were in a situation but you thoughts and reactions don't always align in a crisis situation.