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| MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES ; RLJ ENTERTAINMENT |
Sam Waymon, himself a musician, told the Daily News that using Saldana in “what we consider blackface” to match the Civil Rights-era soul singer in the film, “Nina,” was an “outrage.”
“It’s an insult, to our people and their struggle,” said Waymon. “And to all the things that Nina stood for in her music and all the things she stood for in her life ... It takes a lot of guts and gall to do that.”
Earlier Friday, he told TMZthat the casting was “raping Nina’s legacy.”
He believes Saldana was selected for her star power, and not any resemblance to the much darker-skinned Simone.
“Of course Zoe Saldana has a name, but is that enough to sacrifice a person’s history? Who they are for the sake of headlines and box office?” Waymon asked a News reporter. “Apparently so.”
He says director Cynthia Mort never consulted the family — especially about a storyline involving a fictional affair with an assistant.
The 71-year-old’s choice words added toalready widespread backlash— includingwithering tweets aimed at Saldanafrom the late “Feelin’ Good” crooner’s verified Twitter account.
“Cool story but please take Nina's name out your mouth,” read the tweet. “For the rest of your life.”
“Hopefully people begin to understand this is painful,” the account continued. “Gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, nauseating, soul-crushing.”
But some members of Simone’s family are slightly more sympathetic to the New Jersey-born actress of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent, who has faced an uphill battle since her 2012 casting in the controversial unauthorized biopic.
“It’s unfortunate that Zoe Saldana is being attacked so viciously when she is someone who is part of a larger picture,” 53-year-old Lisa Simone Kelly, the singer’s only child, toldTime.
“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.”
Simone Kelly maintained that the family was “not upset with Zoe” — but said she still doesn’t believe casting Saldana was the “proper choice.”
“There are many superb actresses of color who could more adequately represent my mother and could bring her to the screen with the proper script, the proper team and a sense of wanting to bring the truth of my mother’s journey to the masses,” she said. “And ‘Nina,’ in my opinion, doesn’t do any of that.”
The singer’s daughter also admitted she’d been unaware of the caustic tweets sent from Simone’s account. Family friend Aaron Overfield has managed her official website and Facebook page for years, but it’s unclear who handles the Twitter account.
A new wave of controversy brewed after the “Nina” trailer was released Wednesday, showing Saldana sporting “blackface” and a prosthetic nose.
But the film distributors stuck to their guns Thursday on the polarizing casting choice.
“Zoe Saldana delivers an exceptional and mesmerizing tribute to Nina Simone," said Robert L. Johnson, founder and chairman of the RLJ Entertainment. “She gave her heart and soul to the role and displayed her extraordinary talent.”
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