Saartjie Baartman Movie Fans Bash Beyonce? Singer 'Not Worthy' To Tell Latter's Story?
A Saartjie Baartman movie may be long overdue but it seems that no one, not even Grammy-winning singer-actress, Beyonce Knowles, would be good enough to play the part.
The "Crazy In Love" singer has been rumored to be writing a full-length feature film of the life of Saartjie Baartman (Sarah Baartman), a historical South African figure who was shipped away from her village and was exploited and forced to star in a freak show in 19th century London because of her very exotic physical appearance. Her stage name then was "Hottentot Venus."
"She was taken to London where she was displayed in a building in Piccadilly," read South African History Online website. "Englishmen and women paid to see Sarah's half naked body displayed in a cage that was about a metre and half high."
After hear death in 1815, Saartjie's remains were exhibited in a Paris museum until South African President Nelson Mandela personally requested that her body be brought back to her native country in 2002.
According to The Sun newspaper, as reported in IB Times UK, Beyonce has hired a team to help her write a screenplay and perfect the Saartjie Baartman movie into an Oscar-worthy masterpiece.
A photo posted by Liv (@xovolivia) on Jan 4, 2016 at 5:58pm PST
However, a recent statement by the singer's rep denied that the singer had any connection to any film of the same name.
"Beyonce is not connected to the project," the singer's rep said. "This is an important story that should be told, however."
Following the false rumors, Jean Burgess, chief of Baartman's tribe, reportedly bashed the singer, saying she was "unworthy" to play the part.
"She lacks the basic human dignity to be worthy of writing Sarah's story, let alone playing the part," Chief Jean Burgess told Times Live. "Why Sarah Baartman? Why not a story about an indigenous American woman? I can only see arrogance in her attempt to tell a story that is not hers to tell."
According to Burgess, if Beyonce were to make a Saartjie Baartman movie, there should be appropriate consultation, respect and acknowledgement of Baartman and her people.
