In the cover story of the July issue of Pride magazine, Nia Long was asked what she thought about Beyonce Knowles‘ performance in Obsessed.
Now, I don’t know what prompted the interviewer ask about this movie (which featured Sasha Fierce and Ali Larter fighting over Stringer Bell), but the question sure got some not so ambiguous responses.
“I didn’t see ‘Obsessed,’ so I can’t comment,” said Nia, “but it’s just not about how talented you are anymore. It’s about, ‘How much box-office revenue will this person generate?’ When you see certain people – we won’t name names – they just don’t have the skill, and no one in their team has said, ‘You need acting classes’”.
Oh snap.
She goes on to say, “If you’re a singer not an actress, you should sing. If you’re a rapper, you should rap.”
She also states, “If you were able to take all the Black actresses and the choices we’ve made collectively, it’s a pure reflection of what you see on film. People need to work. But the content? The opportunities for Black actresses are more widespread today, but the quality has suffered.”
Does this mean Bonnie & Clyde are gonna have to come out with a diss song? Say it ain’t so Hov, because I’ve had a thing for Nia since since Boyz n the Hood.
3 Responses to "Nia Long taking shots at Beyonce"
2 | chanzero
I think her comments are pretty self-sufficient. Not sure she had some “larger” point. It didn’t seem like she was strictly out to diss Beyonce.
Regardless, the main reason I wrote this up was because I notice Nia Long in the Twitter trending topics and wondered why she was popping up there. And then I shared it with you all. Because I’m a nonstop blogging machine and all that.
3 | Shola Akinnuso
heh. Nah, this was Sam Jackson’s argument for a while, too. Musicians and outside media folk taking work away from solid actors. The real argument, though, shouldn’t be against the entertainers, should it? I imagine that it should be against the producers and the creative entities. Hell, even the directors to an extent. In the end, they’re all just trying to ensure that the get a return on their investment. These days, strong acting and solid story isn’t as much cred as a crowd-pleaser with a pop-icon, unfortunately. It’s all about the C.R.E.A.M.
