Singer/Songwriter India Arie recently took a shot at Zoe Saldana who scored the lead role in a biopic about jazz legend Nina Simone. “So today I saw the images of Zoe Saldana as Nina Simone…AND I THINK THEY ARE RIDICULOUS,” India.Arie said in a post on Simone’s official website. “Yes there should be a movie made, and YES they should have chosen someone who LOOKS like Nina Simone, ESPECIALLY since her RACE played such a PIVOTAL role in WHO, WHAT and WHY, she was.” She continued: “That ASIDE for a second, this just looks WEIRD, it looks like a person in Black(er) face with a fake nose… REALLY?!!!! Does not the one Nina Simone’s legacy deserve better than this?… “But these images… just make me feel… SAD. Not because I want to play Nina Simone but because it feels out of place with what Nina Simone means in an African American historical context!!!! THIS looks like a parody. If it has to be FORCED this hard something’s not right!” The musician expressed hope that Zoe’s “obvious admiration of Nina” means she can “pull off the portrayal energetically.” She then concluded her rant by saying Viola Davis is her pick to play the music legend. Simone’s daughter also isn’t too happy about the 34-year-old Star Trek star’s casting either, telling the New York Times, “My mother was raised at a time when she was told her nose was too wide, her skin was too dark. Appearance-wise [Saldana] is not the best choice. Some Simone fans agree, with one even launching an online petition calling on writer-director Cynthia Mort to “replace Zoe Saldana with an actress who actually looks like Nina Simone.” “What do you think of Saldana’s transformation?
By: Shelley Mendoza
