Nina Simone’s family is continuing to speak out about the controversial casting of Zoe Saldana as the legendary singer in a biopic that’s coming out in April.
While the Simone estate has never been happy about the casting of Saldana to play Simone in Nina, the controversy came up again when promotion for the film started this week. RLJ Entertainment has scheduled the film for a theatrical and VOD release on April 22.
Saldana tried to stay above the fray by tweeting a Simone quote, but this only emboldened the estate, which tweeted to the Star Trek actress, “Cool story but please take Nina’s name out your mouth. For the rest of your life.”
In an interview with TMZ, Simone’s brother, Sam Waymon, said that “painting up” Saldana’s lighter-skin is an insult and is “raping Nina’s legacy.” He suggested that Viola Davis or India Arie would have been better for the role.
Interestingly, Simone’s daughter, Lisa Simone Kelly, told Time Magazine that she wasn’t aware about the tweet at Saldana and stood by her side. She said she felt bad about the backlash Saldana has received.
“It’s unfortunate that Zoe Saldana is being attacked so viciously when she is someone who is part of a larger picture,” Simone Kelly said. “It’s clear she brought her best to this project, but unfortunately she’s being attacked when she’s not responsible for any of the writing or the lies.”
However, she does not approve of the film itself, which was written and directed by Cynthia Mort. The film is about Simone’s relationship with manager Clifton Henderson, who is played by David Oyelowo. Simone Kelly said that the film characterizes the relationship in the wrong way.
“The project has been tainted from the very beginning,” she said. “Clearly, it is not the truth about my mother’s life and everyone now knows that. This is not how you want your loved ones remembered.”
While Nina is not approved by the Simone family, What Happened, Miss Simone? was. That documentary, available on Netflix, was just nominated for an Oscar.
In their own statement, RLJ Entertainment CEO Robert Johnson defended the film.
“Zoe Saldana delivers an exceptional and mesmerizing tribute to Nina Simone. She gave her heart and soul to the role and displayed her extraordinary talent,” Johnson said. “The most important thing is that creativity or quality of performance should never be judged on the basis of color, or ethnicity, or physical likeness.”