Talib Kweli Weighs In on Actress Zoe Saldana Wearing Black Makeup in Nina Simone Biopic

Talib Kweli spent a good amount of his weekend on Twitter discussing Zoe Saldana's role as Nina Simone in the upcoming biopic Nina. Saldana has been a focal point of discussion because she does not bear resemblance to the the late singer and donned a prosthetic nose and dark makeup for her role. Nina's brother, Sam Waymon, went as far as telling TMZ that "painting up" a light-skinned actress is insulting and "raping Nina's legacy." After Saldana tweeted out a quote from Simone, the manager of the late singer's official account replied back, "Cool story but please take Nina's name of your mouth. For the rest of your life."

Kweli, who is outspoken in his music and on social media, especially when it comes to race relations and culture discussions, opened up discussion on the subject. When asked what he thought of Saldana being casted as Simone, Kweli responded, "Zoe is a fantastic actress. But this is an incredibly difficult role. I reserve judgement until I see it."

The rapper then pointed to other black actors who have worn make up for roles including Denzel Washington as Malcolm X in Malcolm X and Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin and Kerry Washington as Kay Amin in Last King of Scotland. "Malcolm X was light skinned with red hair," he tweeted. "He looked nothing like Denzel. At all. That's why it's called acting. Let's see what Zoe got."

For the next three days and into this morning, Kweli went back and forth with followers about whether it should be acceptable for black actors to wear dark makeup for roles, Nina Simone's impact on his own career, Hollywood using biopics for entertainment purposes instead of telling the truth and the thought process behind why film execs may have chosen Saldana for the role. Check out a collection of the many tweets below.

Last week, Nina Simone's daughter, Lisa Simone Kelly, spoke with Time about Saldana's portrayal of her mother and she said that Saldana should not be facing the brunt of the backlash . "It's unfortunate that Zoe Saldana is being attacked so viciously when she is someone who is part of a larger picture," she said. "It's clear she brought her best to this project but unfortunately she's being attacked when she's not responsible for any of the writing or the lies."

The lie Simone Kelly is referring to is the false portrayal of her mother's relationship with her manager Clifton Henderson. "The movie is about a relationship between my mother and Clifton, which never took place," she said. "They never had an amorous relationship. The project has been tainted from the very beginning. Clearly, it is not the truth about my mother's life, and everyone knows that. That is now how you want your loved ones remembered"

Kelly also said that her family is "not upset with Zoe," but think that the role could have been casted by someone who more naturally resembles her mother. "There are many superb actresses of color who could more adequately represent my mother and could bring her to the screen with the proper script, the proper team and a sense of wanting to bring the truth of my mother's journey to the masses. And Nina, in my opinion, doesn't do any of that."

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