Weren’t we all excited when we heard that Nina Simone’s incredible story and journey as a musician was about to be immortalised in a movie? Well, a lot of people were not, including Nina’s daughter, Lisa Simone Kelly.
The biopic has been engulfed in controversy since the start of production, and tensions escalated when everyone found out that actress Zoe Saldana will be playing the legendary singer. Zoe Saldana, who is of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent, has light brown skin which she had to darken in order to play the role.
No big deal right? Except that it is. First of all, it shows Hollywood’s (and society’s) preference for light-skin. Second, Zoe Saldana had to have a lot of make-up on to match her skin colour to Nina’s, which means she’s a donning a “blackface“. Third, it would just make more sense to cast someone with dark skin, rather than choosing someone with light skin and then spending money and time to alter that. It is clear that Hollywood is still unable to do away with colourism.
Nina Simone was very proud of her dark skin, and her distinctly African features defined her politics and her music – so to portray her in this way is nothing short of criminal. In fact, it defeats the whole purpose of making this movie.
“My mother was raised at a time when she was told her nose was too wide, her skin was too dark. Appearance-wise, this is not the best choice,” Simone’s only child – Lisa Simone Kelly – told The New York Times in 2012, while calling herself a fan of the actress’ previous work.
While Zoe Saldana is an amazing actress with incredible talent, is vital that dark skinned black women are represented honestly in the industry – if we want to eradicate racism for real.
Nina opens in cinemas on April 22nd, and you watch the trailer here.
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