Zoe Saldana Responds to Backlash Over Her Role As Nina Simone
Zoe Saldana is not letting the controversy surrounding her role as Nina Simone get her down.
Saldana’s casting had been met with controversy after it was announced that she would be replacing Mary J. Blige who was originally cast for role. Many took issue with the fact that Saldana was not a singer, does not claim to be African American and did not bear any resemblance to Simone.
HipHollywood caught up with the actress at a recent pre-Oscar party where she told us how she dealt with the backlash and why she took the role. ”I guess what kept me from being hurt by the negative comments was that I’m doing it for my sistas and my brothas and I don’t care who tells me I’m not this or I’m not that, I know who I am and I know what Nina Simone means to me.”
Saldana told us she is proud to be a Black and Latina woman and has no regrets about taking the role. ”I did it all out of love for my people and my pride of being a black woman and a Latina woman and an American woman and that’s my truth.”
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lmao okay
or maybe people are angry that a light skinned* actress is playing a dark skinned woman. Don't even get me started on the fact that they put make-up on her to change her skin tone instead of just hiring Adepero Oduye.
*I already know that people are gonna pop in and say "BUT SHE ISN'T LIGHT SKINNED!1!!!" she sure as hell isn't the same skin tone as Nina.
I hope they make another version soon starring Adepero and she wins loads of awards for it
but lmao at those who think Anne Hathaway is proof ONTD hates women when damn idk anyone hated Zoe until this post.
but before this everyone pretty much loved her.
that makes my head hurt.
Also, as a WOC she really should be a little more sensitive to the issues that come with her playing this role. It is easy to say something is your truth, it's harder to look at the criticisms and realize that there are several valid points. I really like Zoe and I respect her desire to want to play roles that are challenging, but this part should have gone to another actress.
Edited at 2013-02-26 11:51 pm (UTC)
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When did either of those women mask their entire skin? I know they've both worn prosthetics but AFAIK neither have attempted to portray people who were significantly darker or lighter-skinned than they naturally are.
And there is an enormous difference in the implications between a black woman putting on prosthetics to make her look "more black/Africanized" and a white woman putting on a fake nose or forehead to look ugly or slightly different. Your thinking is applying the fallacy that white and black should be equal even when it comes to discussing complex issues of history and popular representation.
A black person shucking and jiving or saying things like "aw i sho does" for a movie will always have significantly different implications than a white actor doing the exact same thing. Because of race. Yes, even in 2013.
“We have a Black president right now,” the actress said in her Ebony magazine cover story. “So why the f— would I sit down and talk about how hard it is for Black women in Hollywood when there’s a Black president in my country?”
Read more: http://iluluonline.com/zoe-saldana-obam
So I'm not surprised that this is the statement she is making.
I am not mad at Zoe for not backing out , because it's easier said than done.
I do think she was a poor choice though and that role should have went straight to Adepero Oduye with no questions asked.
does not claim to be African American
Errrr I am pretty sure she identifies as an Afro Latina because that is what she is :/
delusional, issue avoiding, dumbass...
Almost all your "sistas and brothas" disagree with this casting for very legitimate reasons including Nina's damn family but all right, stay true to your bullshit.
Edited at 2013-02-26 11:57 pm (UTC)
Her 'truth' is that she wants awards for this
Obviously these are all sensitive and potentially problematic facets to a complicated issue, but I'm interested...
Also, I am a white girl, just in the interest of full disclosure.
Nina being dark skinned with 'stereotypically' 'African' features and proud of that was a huge part of what made her so iconic and a big part of her success
So to cast some light brown skinny girl that is conventionally attractive is pretty offensive yes
Plus Hollywood has a really bad reputation for whitewashing black characters and making them lighter skinned meaning that the diversity of shades that black people are never gets shown.
All you see are the lighter ones.
Zoe acting as if people are saying this because they don't think she's black is bullshit and misses the point completely.
I know a lot of lighter skinned black people feel uncomfortable about not being seen as "black enough" (which is a legit complaint) but I hate how that's used to deflect from the fact that dark skinned black women with the typical african features are almost never represented.
lol stop
perf