Zoe Saldana has apologized for portraying celebrated musician Nina Simone in the 2016 biopic Nina.
Earlier this week, the Avatar actress opened up about her controversial role while speaking virtually, via the Bese Instagram account, with Pose creator Steven Canals.
“I should have never played Nina,” Saldana said. “I should have done everything in my power with the leverage that I had 10 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.”
At the time of the casting, Saldana faced criticism for playing Simone over an actress who more closely resembled the late legend. While portraying Simone, the now 42-year-old actress, who identifies as Afro-Latina, wore a prosthetic nose and darkened her skin.
Amid the criticism, Simone’s daughter, Lisa Simone Kelly, voiced her displeasure about Saldana’s casting.
“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,” Kelly relayed to the New York Times in 2012.
