Gabrielle Union on Nate Parker rape trial controversy: 'I cannot take these allegations lightly'

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Gabrielle Union has penned an op-ed that discusses her thoughts on starring in Birth of a Nation in light of the controversy surrounding director Nate Parker's 1999 rape trial.

"Rape is a wound that throbs long after it heals. And for some of us the throbbing gets too loud. Post traumatic stress syndrome is very real and chips away at the soul and sanity of so many of us who have survived sexual violence," the actress wrote Friday after detailing how she was the victim of rape in a piece published in The Los Angeles Times.

"Since Nate Parker's story was revealed to me, I have found myself in a state of stomach-churning confusion. I took this role because I related to the experience. I also wanted to give a voice to my character, who remains silent throughout the film. In her silence, she represents countless black women who have been and continue to be violated. Women without a voice, without power. Women in general," she continued, expressing her mixed emotions following the resurfacing of rape allegations levied against Parker in 1999 that have returned due to the buzz surrounding Birth of a Nation.

Parker, who also stars in the film, addressed the controversy on social media recently after new information revealed that the woman who accused Parker and his college roommate at the time, Birth of a Nation co-writer Jean Celestin, of rape had committed suicide in 2012.

"I cannot -- nor do I want to ignore the pain she endured during and following our trial. While I maintain my innocence that the encounter was unambiguously consensual, there are things more important than the law. There is morality; no one who calls himself a man of faith should even be in that situation," Parker wrote.

"As important and ground-breaking as this film is, I cannot take these allegations lightly," Union wrote. "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."

Despite her questions, the 43-year-old is still sticking by the film and its overall message.

"Regardless of what I think may have happened that night 17 years ago, after reading all 700 pages of the trial transcript, I still don't actually know. Nor does anyone who was not in that room. But I believe that the film is an opportunity to inform and educate so that these situations cease to occur on college campuses, in dorm rooms, in fraternities, in apartments or anywhere else young people get together to socialize," she noted.

"I took this part in this film to talk about sexual violence. To talk about this stain that lives on in our psyches. I know these conversations are uncomfortable and difficult and painful. But they are necessary. Addressing misogyny, toxic masculinity, and rape culture is necessary. Addressing what should and should not be deemed consent is necessary."

Parker was acquitted by a jury in 2001 while Celestin was found guilty and sentenced to six months in prison. The verdict was appealed and a new trial was granted in 2005. It never made it to court, however, as the woman decided not to testify again.

The Birth of a Nation, which follows Nat Turner's slave rebellion from 1831, opens in theaters on Oct. 7.

Recently, the American Film Institute canceled a planned screening of the film due to the controversy.