Zoe Saldana in Nina Simone biopic

[Lencho01]

Poor Zoe.
I'm half black, majority of people considered me as black, it isn't like they took a white girl.

This is still an issue of colorism. If they had someone like Halle Berry play the role, people would be coming for her too.

 

[terry78]

It's not just a "black is black" thing. It's an internal thing. I am a light skinned black guy with freckles, for some I may not be viewed as black enough, for some I may be viewed as too black since my features are more....blackish as it were.

 

[Pokkle]

This is still an issue of colorism. If they had someone like Halle Berry play the role, people would be coming for her too.

And why the actor and not the guy who hired her....

 

[Lencho01]

And why the actor and not the guy who hired her....

As I said before, she's the face of the project... and probably should've known better anyway.

 

[Pokkle]

She is just an easy target instead of targeting the real responsible.

 

[SuperT]

I wouldn't say she's an easy target and I don't 100% agree with the people that are attacking Saldana directly but I think she bares at least a small portion of responsibility. I would NEVER begrudge a minority actor or actress for taking a role in Hollywood ever because we all already know how hard it is but when do you get to that point where you should probably say "Hey, you know what this role probably isn't a smart decision."

I'd say that same thing for Emma Stone and Rooney Mara as well - you can't be that ignorant. But yes, Hollywood and the casting directors for these projects should take about 95% of the responsibility for stuff like this.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I won't speak for anybody else but I don't care about the facial prosthetics, I'm fine with that, actors wear them all of the time but I just don't like darkening of the skin.

 

[Zant]

Oh my. Just saw the trailer and I thought Zoe's makeup for Gamora was bad.

 

[chaseter]

They should have cast Rachel Dolezal.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

So you don't agree that African-Americans (or minorities really), that generally have features that are more in line with what's deemed attractive by most white standards aren't treated differently or afforded more opportunities than their counterparts with more ethnic features?

What I am saying is this is clear complaining to complain. Again, the "black enough" argument is as crazy as it sounds. You are basically saying her facial structure is too white.

This. A lot of white dudes on this thread calling ludicrous on the very idea seem to be wholly ignorant of colorism.

First, not white. Second, it is ludicrous. Just because something exist, does not make it more sane. Just look at Trump rallies. I know that awful type of human being exist. That doesn't make them any less crazy.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I won't speak for anybody else but I don't care about the facial prosthetics, I'm fine with that, actors wear them all of the time but I just don't like darkening of the skin.

Same here. The prosthetics are not unusual. I think this would have gone all but unnoticed if not for the darkening of the skin, which was a big mistake imo. They hired Zoe. They know her skin tone, what she looks like.

 

[Wildcard]

I'm not saying I agree 100% with the backlash but at this point, I'm almost thinking they should either recast or call it quits on this one. No way does it go on to become a success with this much hate towards it already. It's crazy.

 

[chamber-music]

The black community at large has some messed up issues with pigment gradations that are prominent and disturbing. Those individuals might benefit to re-evaluate how much shades of their own racial counterparts lead to further discrimination and judgment.
.

Colourism isn't just an issue in the black community. It is a big issue in countries from the indian subcontinent and in Asia. Skin whitening products and pigment prejudice is big there as well.

 

[Chesterfield]

Esther uses skin whitening cream and has now changed her name from Esther to Established.

 

[Zant]

I like Zoe, but my issue has always been the fact that she seems to be the "go-to" black chick for Sci Fi films.

I have to say, Zoe must have one of the best agents in Hollywood. She is in 3 ongoing successful franchises. Pretty impressive.

If only agents of other black actresses were as good as Zoe's. She is taking all the roles lol. I am surprised she was not cast as Storm. Alexandra Shipp must be happy about that. I guess the DCEU is next on her list.

 

[Lencho01]

Nina Simone's Daughter: "It's Unfortunate Zoe Saldana Is Being Attacked So Viciously"

India Arie: Why Zoe Saldana as Nina Simone Is "Tone-Deaf" Casting (Q&A)

 

[Warhammer]

Zoe Saldana doesn't deserve the vitrole that is directly to her. However, when she signed on for this, there is no way in hell she didn't know there would be some kind of backlash. The fact that she had to wear a prosthetic nose and have her skin darkened was more than enough. I feel for her. But I hope if she had any shred of intelligence, she would have prepared herself for backlash.

And damn, I am shaking my damn head to anyone in this thread who has the mentality of "She is a black actor playing a black figure. Why is everyone so pissed?" It's ignorant. It's more than that and represents a greater issue in Hollywood that one doesn't need to be black or a minority to understand. And what better time for this to happen since it's after a decent amount of minority actors (not just black actors and the Oscars) have spoken out about diversity in Hollywood.

 

[Rocketman]

Unbelievable, this whole controversy. You can't even be black and be black now. What is this society coming to. By this logic, we're saying Don Cheadle should never play Barack Obama, and it's simply laughable.

Jamie Foxx isn't actually blind - how dare he play Ray Charles.
James Franco has both of his arms - how dare he play Aaron Ralston.
Heath Ledger wasn't actually gay - how dare he play Ennis Del Mar.
Anthony Hopkins isn't actually a cannibal - how dare he play Hannibal Lecter.

Go outside and get some fresh air, people. Life is too short for this BS.

 

[Spider-Who?]

I see the point is clearly going over a lot of your heads, which is not surprising. Saldana is black no one is questioning that, whether she claims it or not I don't care. The issue is that they took a lighter skinned black woman, with more Eurocentric features darkened her skin and gave her a fake nose to look more African-American.

That is the issue - that means no, she wasn't the right person for the role. It's a complete slap in the face to Nina Simone, what she stood for as well as to dark-skinned black women in general. How is that so hard to comprehend?!

An actor or actress changing their appearance to look more like the real person they are playing is nothing new. Anthony Hopkins had most of his face and body covered in prosthetics to look like Hitchcock. Gordon-Levitte wore prosthetics to look like Bruce Willis in Looper (not a bio film, but the point still stands). Will Smith wore a fake nose to look more like Ali. Steve Carrell wore prosthetics for Foxcatcher. Meryl Streep, did as well to play Margaret Thatcher. The list goes on and on. Use of makeup and prosthetics is NOTHING NEW in Hollywood, especially in biographical films. This doesn’t make the actor/actress any less suitable for the role; it's about how they understand the person and act within the role. To suggest otherwise, or that it is somehow different here is asinine, especially when it literally comes down to being "black enough".

 

[terry78]

It's different, but it's not.

 

[SuperT]

Unbelievable, this whole controversy. You can't even be black and be black now. What is this society coming to. By this logic, we're saying Don Cheadle should never play Barack Obama, and it's simply laughable.

Jamie Foxx isn't actually blind - how dare he play Ray Charles.
James Franco has both of his arms - how dare he play Aaron Ralston.
Heath Ledger wasn't actually gay - how dare he play Ennis Del Mar.
Anthony Hopkins isn't actually a cannibal - how dare he play Hannibal Lecter.

Go outside and get some fresh air, people. Life is too short for this BS.

n actor or actress changing their appearance to look more like the real person they are playing is nothing new. Anthony Hopkins had most of his face and body covered in prosthetics to look like Hitchcock. Gordon-Levitte wore prosthetics to look like Bruce Willis in Looper (not a bio film, but the point still stands). Will Smith wore a fake nose to look more like Ali. Steve Carrell wore prosthetics for Foxcatcher. Meryl Streep, did as well to play Margaret Thatcher. The list goes on and on. Use of makeup and prosthetics is NOTHING NEW in Hollywood, especially in biographical films. This doesn’t make the actor/actress any less suitable for the role; it's about how they understand the person and act within the role. To suggest otherwise, or that it is somehow different here is asinine, especially when it literally comes down to being "black enough".

 

[cronosred]

I guess it really was a good thing that they cast a white guy to play Michael Jackson in that upcoming movie.

 

[Kar]

I'm not entirely upset Zoe is playing Nina, just upset she didn't say "nah" to the face paint. She's not incompetent. She should've known that was gonna cause some trouble. She could have remained her complexion because let's face it, there have been way worse inaccurate casting choices before. But we dealt with it.

But the fact that Hollywood select Zoe Saldana to play Nina Simone IN DARKER FACE PAINT instead of (oh I dunno) casting a darkskin actress (or a darkskin "unattractive" actress) to play the her speaks volumes for their colorism and attractiveness issues. People have the right to a little upset/outraged about this.

And if you don't see an issue, fine but don't make it seem as if people are overreacting.

 

[Kar]

Idris Elba is BLLLLLLAAAAACK and he played the comparatively light skinned Mandela. There was no problem.

Did. Idris. Paint. His. Face. Light?

Jesus Christ...apples and oranges.

 

[Rocketman]

Not really.

This happens all the time in Hollywood. It has nothing to do with race, it has to do with making the actor/actress look like the role they're playing. Makeup is essential for that. Zoe's a good actress, she expressed passion for the role, therefore they cast her. Now they're making her look the part. How is this any different from Leonardo DiCaprio playing Howard Hughes, Jordan Belfort, or J. Edgar Hoover?

You'd think they cast Tilda Swinton as Nina Simone, judging by the backlash.