Zoe Saldana Still Catching Flack for Nina Simone Role
As the weeks press on and Zoe Saldana continues to film the Nina Simone biopic, the Afro-Latina actress is drawing even more criticism. As previously reported, Saldana was given the lead role in the upcoming biopic Nina detailing the jazz singer’s life and has been lambasted along with the movie’s producers ever since. Most recently, the website content manager for NinaSimone.com, Aaron Overfield, chimed in on the topic and released a scathing open letter to the film’s director Cynthia Mort. According to Overfield, Mort’s casting of Saldana ties into various issues of racism, colorism and beauty standards, furthermore it’s directly disrespectful to the late songstress’ estate.
“The very casting of Zoe itself was based in the still present subtleties of racism, colorism and beauty standards,” said Overfield. “The fact that Zoe ended up being approached for the role [which might make sense considering Cynthia Mort is Latin American], is indicative of the same system that Nina fought her entire life. It shows the entire movie has been misguided from the beginning and Cynthia Mort’s ‘artistic license’ is no more than a spit in the face of Nina’s legacy.”
To read the open letter in its entirety, click here.
While Simone supporters continue their tirade, Saldana is still marching around on set in prosthetic teeth, a misshapen Afro wig and dark foundation to mimic Simone’s look. Check out newly released photos of Zoe Saldana as Nina Simone below. –danielle canada
