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The casting of Zoe Saldana in Nina as famous jazz singer, Nina Simone has come under scrutiny according to the NY Times …because she is too light to play the iconic singer? Saldana is actually a Hispanic, but that has not stopped her from taking on roles as an African american woman in movies…she was even played a blue alien, but that’s besides the point…an online petition is going around pleading with the movie’s producers to change the actress to someone who is darker, more resembling Simone. There have been some casting controversies in the past…Lenny Kravitz as ‘Cinna’ in the Hunger Games caused quite a stir. Simone’s daughter, Simone Kelly(born Lisa Celeste Stroud) took to her Facebook page and said the movie was not authorized by the Simone estate. In an interview she said, “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.” She would have preferred Viola Davis or Kimberly Elise in the role, but she adds her mother would have wanted Whoopi Goldberg.
Sound off…what do you think is Saldana too light, does it matter to you or is in all in the acting?
Photo from PR Photos
