Quoted: Zoe Saldana On The Nina Simone Controversy

March 4th, 2013 by Racialicious Team

The reality is that what keeps me focused and what kept me from, I guess, getting stressed or being hurt by the comments is that I’m doing it for my sisters, I’m doing it for my brothers, and I don’t care who tells me that I am not this and I am not that. I know who I am, and I know what Nina Simone means to me.

So, that is my truth and that sets me free. And I can only rely on that and maintain as much humility as possible, so that when I have to face the world, and we have to then give the movie to the world to see and share it with them, that if it comes back in any other way, if it comes back in a negative fashion or positive, I’m gonna keep my chin up. Because that’s who I am and that’s who I’ll be and Nina was like that, too.

I did it all out of love–out of love for Nina, out of love for my people and who I am and my pride of being a black woman and a Latina woman and an American woman and that’s my truth.

[h/t Vibe Vixen]

Posted in Quoted, african-american, black, casting, celebrities, film, latin@, movies, race & representations, women of color | 5 comments

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  • http://www.facebook.com/rogerowengreen Roger Green

    Good for Zoe. Some of these casting “controversies” are inane.

  • http://twitter.com/CliftonDuncanIV Clifton Duncan

    I find this highly troubling. I dig Zoe Saldana, but her comments here strike me as disingenuous.

    It’s great that Nina Simone means a lot to her…but I find it hard to believe she was doing it for her sisters and brothers. Knowing how racist and xenophobic show business is, especially with regards to dark-skinned women, she could have served her “brothers and sisters” more effectively by turning the role down and stepping aside to allow someone else–maybe Adepero Oduye or the like–to portray such an important black artist. They at least could have saved time and money by not having to use prosthetic noses and dark make-up!

    No, Zoe, you are not doing this for anyone but yourself. And it’s a shame (though the producers are at fault as well). You should know better.

  • Phoenixrising212

    Yeah ok you did it for all of us. Please stop w/ the fakeness Zoe. Just say it was a good role and you wanted it. That I respect. You are an actress and you got the opportunity to play an amazing woman. Do not say you are doing it for all of us like you are the female version of Jesus Christ. Really we do not need you to play this role for us especially since there are so many dark sisters who could have played this role way better than you have.

  • Soliloquy

    Stop frontin’.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000709864513 Michelle Kirkwood

    That’s just ONE ridiculous comment she made—-she’s said far too many other intelligent things for me to dog her out for saying that one stupid thing alone. To me,the obvious reason she said something like this is partly because she dosen’t want to ruffle any feathers now that she’s finally made it to the top after over a decade in the business by discussing anything to do with race in the business,and it sounds like she’s trying to be diplomatic about the whole situation,considering all the shade that’s getting thrown her way due to this project.

    Also, anybody who knows how Hollywood works,know that they could care less about making sure an actress/actor matches up with the actual person they are portraying, if it’s based on a true story—that just wasn’t a big name in the film to recoup their investment—that’s all that’s about. They’re especially not that concerned about accuracy when ti comes to casing black folks either. Also, i would hardly call Saldana a “flavor of the month” , seeing that she’s only started becoming a big name in the last couple of years. I’m like this–let’s just see how the film turns out, and then we can really put the finished product in check,if it still ain’t right!