Gabrielle Union Says Her Kids Don’t Care About Her Most Famous Movie

Gabrielle Union is thankful for her role as Isis in the 2000s hit film “Bring It On,” but her children, Kaavia, Zaire, Zaya, and Xavier, are completely unimpressed. In a new interview alongside her on-screen rival, Kirsten Dunst, the celebrated actress, also known for her roles in “Think Like A Man” and “Being Mary Jane,” reflected on filming the cheerleading flick that has since become a cult classic. She also joked about why she believes her children might not give a “flying fig” about the movie that made her a star.

Speaking with PEOPLE, Union, 53, confessed that she doesn’t think her children have actually seen “Bring It On” in its entirety. “Our older kids, I don’t know if it’s just kids and their parents. They don’t care,” she said. “I don’t think I can say that strongly enough — absolutely, positively do not give a flying fig.”

“Bring It On” premiered in the United States in August 2000, grossing $90.5 million against an $11 million budget. In addition to Union and Dunst, the flick starred Eliza Dushku and Jesse Bradford. The movie follows cheerleader Torrance Shipman (Dunst), whose world is flipped upside down when she learns that her team’s cheer routines were stolen from their cross-town rivals, the East Compton Clovers.

While the movie might not have won any Oscars, it has garnered a massive audience, and its success and support have spawned several sequels, including 2004’s “Bring It On Again” and 2006’s “Bring It On: All or Nothing.” The most recent film, “Bring It On: Cheer or Die,” was released in 2022.

Elsewhere during her interview, Union admitted that being a part of the “Bring It On” community means “everything” to her. “Being a part of something that people feel strongly about, especially that they feel positively about, is huge and it’s very humbling. And you just feel incredibly grateful that different generations appreciate something that you’ve done,” she said. Union also pointed out how elated she gets when she sees people of all ages embracing the magic of “Bring It On,” calling it a “pretty gratifying but humbling feeling.”

In the interview, Union and Dunst also reflected on what it was like to watch their film reach heights they weren’t expecting, with Union saying the movie “quickly became its own thing.” She noted that she first noticed the movie’s impact when she was in San Francisco a year after its release and saw a group of people dressed as characters from the film in a parade.

Dunst, meanwhile, saw the film’s impact almost immediately. “I remember there was a little group of us that went to CityWalk opening weekends and they let us sneak in to just look at the theaters,” she said. “And every theater was packed! I didn’t know that this would be such a success, but there’s never been a cheerleading movie, and I think it was just ahead of its time.”

And while Dunst can appreciate the love that fans still show the movie to this day, they likely won’t be catching the “Power of the Dog” actress in a revival of any sort. “No. I’m like, leave good things where they are,” Dunst told Entertainment Weekly in September 2025. “I don’t need to put on a cheerleading outfit. I don’t even know what I would do, be a coach or something? Let’s leave it as it is.”

Her new position differs vastly from her stance in a 2019 interview with Kelly Clarkson, during which she praised Union after learning they were starring in a Rodarte campaign together. “I had no idea that Gabrielle was in it too and then it became, like, this whole ‘Bring It On’ thing. I was like, listen, if they wanted to make another movie, I would make another movie. It would be so fun!”

Despite having an illustrious career spanning decades, Dunst recently revealed that she still faces major pay disparities as a woman in Hollywood. According to a previous report from The Blast, while promoting her latest film, “Roofman,” Dunst joked about potentially appearing in a future “Minecraft” movie (which grossed over $950 million at the box office). “Maybe I can just make a movie where I don’t lose money?” she said.

Dunst has spoken up about the pay disparity women in the industry face before. According to the 43-year-old, she experienced it firsthand while filming “Spider-Man” with her co-star, Tobey Maguire. According to Dunst, she got the shorter end of the stick despite starring in the blockbuster hit. “I had more success in my box office than he did,” she said, before revealing that there could’ve been more at play with her contract than she realized.

“I didn’t even think to ask [for more money]. I was 17. I was still learning. When you’re that age, I’m still learning my taste in film. I didn’t even know there was a place to challenge [my pay]. That’s how it felt at 17,” Dunst said.