A controversy surrounding the casting of Zoe Saldana as Nina Simone has reingnited alongside the release of the first official trailer for “Nina.”
Simone’s family has been vocal in the past about the lighter-skinned Saldana playing the legendary singer, and the trailer, with the actresss in dark makeup and with a prothesis to broaden her nose, has seemingly reignited the ire.
Of course, tweets are in the mix too.
Saldana, on Tuesday, tweeted a Simone quote, “I’ll tell you what freedom is to me — No Fear” along with the hashtag #NinaSimone.
A response, directed at Saldana, followed on Wednesday from the official Nina Simone Twitter account: “Cool story but please take Nina’s name out of your mouth. For the rest of your life.”
Simone’s Facebook page continued the thread, asking fans to celebrate the singer in an alternative way to seeing the film when it opens on April 22: with a listening party.
“We can use this date as another opportunity to celebrate Nina’s life and music. Let’s create a positive from a negative by coming together and acknowledging the authentic Nina Simone.”
Simone’s daughter, Simone Kelly, has been among those to vocalize her criticisms of the casting choice.
“Appearance-wise this is not the best choice,” Kelly told the New York Times in 2012, in reference to Saldana.
