In late October 2023, viral videos began to spread on social media platforms that claimed three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade and actor Gabrielle Union were getting divorced, and that Union had publicly exposed Wade for cheating on her. The assertion was unfounded.
The claims spread in part via public knowledge about Wade and Union’s relationship as its base. In January 2013, Wade and Union — who met in 2007 and first debuted their relationship in 2010 — broke up, according to a Los Angeles Times article. They reunited the same year they broke up and got engaged in December 2013, but Wade had fathered a child during their split. This was mentioned in the viral videos.
The first mention we found of the unfounded claims that Wade was cheating on Union came from a Deux U podcast episode released on Oct. 26, 2023. Deux U is the podcast of Deuxmoi, an outlet that posts unverified celebrity gossip. During the podcast episode, the host read several anonymous messages from fans that alleged Wade and Union’s relationship was on the rocks. It was stated during the podcast that no concrete messages had been received by the host that proved Wade had cheated.
Soon after, a viral YouTube video regarding the claims was posted by channel Misstee on Oct. 30, 2023. The video was titled, “Gabrielle Union DIVORCES Dwyane Wade For Cheating On Her” and had been viewed over 693,000 times at the time of this writing. The video’s thumbnail purportedly claimed Union had said, “He’s a piece of sh*t,” presumably about Wade cheating on her. In the video, the Deux U podcast claims were mentioned.
The video was posted on TikTok, where one post had over 300,000 views at the time of this writing. We also found the video posted on other social media platforms, like Reddit, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Facebook. Other viral unrelated YouTube videos spread the same claim on the platform as well.
A few days later, another viral video about the claim was posted by the same YouTube channel. The video was titled, “Gabrielle Union EXPOSES Dwayne Wade’s GAY Affairs” and had been viewed over 535,000 times at the time of this writing. This time, the video’s thumbnail purportedly claimed Union had said, “He used me as a cover,” also presumably about Wade. The video also mentioned the Deux U podcast claims.
The video was also posted on TikTok, where one post we found had over 573,000 views at the time of this writing. We also found the video posted on Facebook. Other unrelated YouTube videos spread the claim on the platform as well.
The claims that appeared in the YouTube videos as well as in the Deux U podcast had no evidence to back them up. A disclaimer at the bottom of the two viral YouTube videos posted by the aforementioned Misstee channel read:
The content on this channel may contain gossip-based information, rumors, or exaggerated portrayals of reality. Please exercise your own discretion while watching and remember that not all information presented may be factual or verified
Hypothetically speaking, reputable entertainment media outlets would have reported about Union publicly revealing a cheating scandal or filing for divorce from Wade. That had not happened.
Despite the fact that the claims surrounding Wade and Union were unfounded, the clips could seem believable because they mentioned publicly known, factual information about their relationship. With that mixture of true and misleading information, as well as emotionally charged language, such videos with baseless celebrity rumors often generate hundreds, or thousands, of comments from YouTube users. Some of those messages indicate that people interpret the videos to be real news.
We’ve previously fact-checked other celebrity gossip claims. After the death of Matthew Perry in October 2023, we wrote about viral false celebrity gossip videos that made claims about his passing.