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Despite the various conversations that have circulated around Hollywood on the necessity and importance of diversity for media (especially over the past few weeks while gearing up for the Oscars), it seems one thing was slightly overlooked in the conversation: Promoting diversity WITHIN various minority groups. Well, that conversation resurfaced yesterday when the new Nina Simone biopic ad came out, showing a very darkened-up Zoe Saldana in the role.
While many people (self included) were ecstatic about the theater debut of the film (set for April 22), others were discontent by the casting of Zoe Saldana as Nina Simone, for various reasons.
One of the biggest reasons for the discontent, however, became more apparent from the ad, where it was clearly evident that Saldana’s skin had been darkened with makeup to better reflect the melanin of Nina Simone. Although some may say that there’s nothing wrong with that, the first thing that jumped in my mind was, So…they couldn’t have found a darker-skinned actress to play the role?
According to Fashionbombdaily.com
Twitter user @Dart_Adams asked, “Why did they DARKEN Zoe Saldana rather than cast a darker actress since it was such a crucial part of Nina Simone’s story?”
@AntheaButler joked, “That Zoe Saldana pic as Nina Simone looks like the blackface of a bad Halloween or frat party.” For her part, Saldana has yet to respond to the backlash over the film’s new poster.
People online have even made suggestions that Viola Davis, Uzo Aduba, or Lupita Nyong’o would have been more admirable selections.
What do you think of Zoe Saldana being cast in a role of a woman who faced constant prejudice due to her dark skin? Is this morally a huge flag about the lack of diversity within our black acting community, or should we just be happy about the opportunity and keep moving forward?