#Zoe Saldana Apologizes for Controversial Nina Simone Portrayal

Zoe Saldana tearfully apologized for playing legendary musician Nina Simone in 2016’s Nina. The actress famously darkened her skin, wore false teeth, and put on a nose prosthesis in order to look more like Simone. When the casting was announced, Simone Kelly, Simone’s daughter, stated, “My mother was raised at a time when she was told her nose was too wide, her skin was too dark. Appearance-wise this is not the best choice.” Saldana now regrets taking on the project and believes that another actress should step up to pay tribute to Simone.

“I should have never played Nina,” Zoe Saldana said during a new interview. Saldana and the movie were torn apart by critics upon its release. Currently, Nina has a 2% Fresh Rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Saldana deeply regrets the decision to take on the role, which was originally going to Mary J. Blige. The actress had this to say.

“I should have done everything in my power, with the leverage that I had ten years ago, which was a different leverage but it was leverage nonetheless, I should have tried everything in my power to cast a Black woman to play an exceptionally perfect Black woman. It’s growing. It’s painful. I thought back then that I had the permission, because I was a Black woman. And I am. But it was Nina Simone.”

Zoe Saldana went on to note that, “Nina had a life and she had a journey that should have been, and should be, honored to the most specific detail.” It’s at this point in the interview that the actress starts to get more emotional. “Because she was a specifically detailed individual. About her voice, her views, her music, her opinions, and her art. And she was so honest,” says Saldana. “So she deserved better. And with that said, so I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, because I love her music. She’s one of our giants.”

After apologizing for taking on the role, Zoe Saldana says, “Somebody else should step up. Somebody else should tell her story.” She concluded by noting, “I just want her story to be told, and I want it to be right, because she deserves it. And America deserves it. Because the Americans that inhabit today’s America deserve her story to be told.” Nina Simone’s story has been told numerous times on the screen, including two recent documentaries. Saldana says she has learned from the experience. She explains.

“I know better today, and I’m never going to do that again. Never. I’m learning. I’m still processing it. I’ve been processing it for 10 years, and I think it’s a conversation that I wanna have. I’m not gonna allow people to violate me, to make me feel less than. But I am going to be open to this conversation, so we can grow from it, and we can give back to ourselves and to each other our identity. For f***’s sake, it’s about time.”

Nina Simone was a complicated person and she has an incredible story. Sadly, Nina did not hit the mark when attempting to tell one portion of the musician’s life. Simone’s estate’s Twitter account tweeted at Zoe Saldana when the movie was released, writing, “Please take Nina’s name out of your mouth. For the rest of your life. Hopefully people begin to understand this is painful. Gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, nauseating, soul-crushing. It shall pass, but for now.” You can watch the entire interview with Saldana above, thanks to the Bese Instagram account.

Topics: Nina