"Take Nina's name out your mouth. For the rest of your life" - Nina Simone's Estate To Zoe Saldana
Safe to say, the world isn't exactly pleased with Zoe Saldana's blackface-clad portrayal of legendary singer/songwriter/activist Nina Simone in the principal artwork and freshly-released trailer for the biopic treatment, Nina.
And to be frank, that's not exactly her fault (she's just playing the game, after all,) but let's be honest, if you're already neck-deep in hot water for such a controversial depiction of one of the most important black voices in history, it's probably best not to stir the pot. Saldana, whether she knew it or not, did precisely that when she fired off a tweet with a quote from Miss Simone, to which the Nina Simone estate clapped back, firing off their own tweet:
...and dropping the mic through the damn floor. Listen, we're not saying that Nina doesn't have the potential to be a piece of quality cinema, only that there's a deep disconnection between this "aesthetic" and the implicit principles that Miss Simone stood and fought for. The film arrives on April 22nd in select theaters and VOD services. We'll wait 'til then for a final verdict. But it don't look pretty.
