The distributor of a controversial forthcoming biopic of Nina Simone has labelled claims that the Hollywood star Zoe Saldana performed in “blackface” to play the iconic singer a relic of slavery-era attitudes towards skin colour.
Robert L Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television and often described as the first African American billionaire, bought the rights to Cynthia Mort’s film in September. He told the Hollywood Reporter that critics of the casting of Saldana, an American of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent who wore a prosthetic nose and dark makeup to portray Simone, were falling into a trap set by American slave owners centuries ago.
“It’s unfortunate that African Americans are talking about this in a way that hearkens back to how we were treated when we were slaves,” said Johnson. “The slave masters separated light-skinned blacks from dark-skinned blacks, and some of that social DNA still exists today among many black people.”
Johnson compared criticism of Saldana’s casting to the infamous early 20th-century “brown paper bag” test, which saw African Americans turned away from black social institutions such as sororities, fraternities, churches and even nightclubs if their skin was darker than the bag’s colour.
“That’s where some of this comes from, when you hear people saying that a light-skinned woman can’t play a dark-skinned woman when they’re both clearly of African descent,” said Johnson. “To say that if I’m gonna cast a movie, I’ve gotta hold a brown paper bag up to the actresses and say, ‘Oh sorry, you can’t play her.’ Who’s to decide when you’re black enough?
“As an African American, I will gladly engage anyone on this question of should we be talking about how light or how dark you should be to play a role,” he continued. “Many people who are talking about it don’t even realise what they’re getting into. Imagine if I were to do a biopic about Lena Horne, who’s obviously light-skinned, or Dorothy Dandridge. Would it be fair if I put up a sign that said, ‘No black women apply’? That would be ridiculous. Black Americans should know better than to have this discussion over a creative project. We’re not talking about white against black. We’re talking about black against black.”
Debate has raged since the casting of Saldana was announced in 2012, with the row reignited by the release of a new trailer and poster for Mort’s film earlier this month. The singer’s daughter, Lisa Simone Kelly, said in 2012 that she would have rather preferred darker-skinned actors such as Kimberly Elise or Viola Davis to portray her mother – though she more recently spoke out to condemn criticism of Saldana. Separately, Simone’s estate waded into the row, telling Saldana on Twitter: “Please take Nina’s name out your mouth. For the rest of your life.”
However, African American stars such as Paula Patton and Queen Latifah have spoken out in Saldana’s defence, with the latter telling reporters: “She is of African descent – I don’t see why she shouldn’t play the role. I just want to see it. Get rid of the hype and let’s go watch a movie.”
Nina will now be released in April in limited US cinemas and via video-on-demand.
