Gabrielle Union isn’t afraid to call out parents who refuse to fight for their children. When attending the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, the actress, mother-of-one and step-mom-of-three opened up about the realities of motherhood while expanding on the emotional speech that she gave alongside husband Dwyane Wade at the NAACP Image Awards last month.

After Extra asked what she hoped parents were able to take away from the speech (which the couple gave after earning the ceremony’s President’s Award), Union replied, “That your kids are worth fighting for.”

“Your children are not disposable and even when faced with something that you might not be as familiar with or comfortable with [it is] not an excuse to throw your kids away,” she added. “When they come for one of us, they come for all of us, and don't ever forget that.”

The actress’s initial speech occurred just a day after her step-daughter Zaya Wade (who Wade shares with ex Siohvaughn Funches) was granted the right to legally change her name and gender on Feb. 24.

This isn’t the first time that Union has been vocal about the importance of fighting for your children. The actress also touched on the topic when talking to InStyle about her film The Inspection in Dec. 2022. “Your children are never disposable and loving your children should never equate to their harm,” she shared. “And if you think that loving your children means denying their identity — which when you deny someone's identity, you deny their humanity — your love should not be inhumane.”

Union added, “And there's, what? There's 8 billion people now, right? There's 8 billion ways to love one another. Pick one that does not equate to abuse or harm or neglect.”