The woman, who was coerced into becoming an ICE informant, filed a lawsuit against the former government official alleging he sexually assaulted her several times a week for seven years.

Union, who is featured in the movie, says she sympathizes with those who opted not to see it in reaction to director Nate Parker’s 1999 rape case and his handling of the fallout.

In the run up to “The Birth of a Nation’s” premiere this Friday, director Nate Parker addressed his infamous 1999 rape trial in two separate television interviews, declaring his innocence and his desire to shift attention toward the film.

The series, based on Lee’s first feature-length film, comes a month after the movie’s 30th anniversary.

Union, an actress and rape survivor who stars in “The Birth of a Nation,” addressed her co-star Nate Parker’s 1999 case in a candid new op-ed.

“It’s interesting because it’s coming out the same time the film’s coming out,” said Belafonte of the renewed attention to Parker and Jean Celestin’s 1999 rape trial.