Zoe Saldaña’s controversial role where she did ‘blackface’ resurfaces after Avatar success

Zoe Saldaña is everywhere right now because of Avatar: Fire and Ash, and now people are looking back at her controversial role as Nina Simone when she did “blackface”.

The 47-year-old, who plays Neytiri in the Avatar series, is super open about her Afro-Latina heritage. Her dad is Dominican and her mum is Puerto Rican, but Zoe was born in the United States and spent most of her childhood in New York.

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A post shared by Zoe Saldaña (@zoesaldana)

Back in 2016, Zoe sparked a massive controversy after she was announced as the lead for Nina, a biopic about the iconic African American singer Nina Simone.  To play Nina, Zoe darkened her skin and wore a prosthetic nose so she could better resemble the singer.

The incident has resurfaced after a viral tweet hinted at it.

“Listen, put this woman in a prosthetic and colour her face? You’re gonna get you a blockbuster,” the tweet said. “Except for that one time…”

Listen put this woman is a prosthesis and color her face? You gone get you a blockbuster.

Except for that one time… https://t.co/stnC7lttTr

— Rod (@rodimusprime) December 29, 2025

In an interview with Allure from the time, Zoe defended her decision to play Nina Simone which she has since apologised for.

“I made a choice. Do I continue passing on the script and hope that the ‘right’ Black person will do it, or do I say, ‘You know what? Whatever consequences this may bring about, my casting is nothing in comparison to the fact that this story must be told’,” she said.

Mostly because of all the controversy, the film absolutely flopped at box office and barely scraped $22k (£16k) on a $7 million  (£5 million) budget. After a lot of backlash, Zoe admitted she was in the wrong for accepting the role as Nina in a statement she shared in 2020.

“I should have tried everything in my power to cast a Black woman to play an exceptionally perfect Black woman,” she said.

She continued:  “I thought back then that I had the permission because I was a black woman. And I am. But it was Nina Simone, and Nina had a life and she had a journey that should be honoured to the most specific detail, because she was a specifically detailed individual.”

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Featured image via RLJ Entertainment and Tinseltown/Shutterstock