{"id":2178,"date":"2026-01-06T12:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T12:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/?p=564930"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"zoe-saldanas-controversial-role-where-she-did-blackface-resurfaces-after-avatar-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/01\/06\/zoe-saldanas-controversial-role-where-she-did-blackface-resurfaces-after-avatar-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Zoe Salda\u00f1a’s controversial role where she did ‘blackface’ resurfaces after Avatar success"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zoe Salda\u00f1a 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”.<\/p>\n

The 47-year-old, who plays Neytiri in the Avatar series<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A post shared by Zoe Salda\u00f1a (@zoesaldana)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n