Nina Simone’s Estate Slams Zoe Saldana Over Unauthorized Biopic

2 minute read
Actress Zoe Saldana speaks onstage during the 22nd Annual ELLE Women in Hollywood Awards presented by Calvin Klein Collection, L’Oréal Paris, and David Yurman at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on October 19, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California.
Actress Zoe Saldana speaks onstage during the 22nd Annual ELLE Women in Hollywood Awards presented by Calvin Klein Collection, L’Oréal Paris, and David Yurman at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on October 19, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California.Michael Kovac—Getty Images
By Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly

The estate of Nina Simone has some harsh words for Zoe Saldana, the actress portraying the singer-songwriter and civil rights activist in a controversial unauthorized biopic.

Replying to a recent tweet by Saldana quoting Simone, the estate’s verified Twitter account wrote, “Cool story but please take Nina’s name out your mouth. For the rest of your life.”

Saldana’s casting in Nina has stirred considerable debate since she came aboard to play Simone in 2012. Detractors say the actress, who is of Dominican and Puerto Rican parentage, was a poor pick to play Simone

“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,” Simone’s only child, Simone Kelly, told the Los Angeles Times.

Saldana responded to the criticisms about her casting in 2013, tellingOcean Drive magazine, “I can’t stop to think about who thinks me to be black enough or not black enough. I know who I am. I like who I am. And I’m not going to explain who I am. I’ve always been like that – I was raised to be that way.”

Representatives for Saldana and RLJ Entertainment, the film’s distributor, did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Nina opens April 22.

This article originally appeared on EW.com

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com