Friday, August 26, 2016
American actress and model Tika Sumpter has reacted to
Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's seemingly controversial
comments where she
concluded that president Obama would not have been elected if the FLOTUS
rocked her natural hair.
Sumpter and co-star Parker Sawyers are set to bring the Obamas' love
story to life on the big screen, playing young Michelle Obama and President
Barack Obama in the film "Southside With You"
In
an August 9th interview with Britain's Channel 4 News, Ms Adichie says
that Mrs Obama could not get away with natural hair because of the
negative stereotypes associated with it, adding that the first lady's
natural hair would prevent Barack Obama from being elected president in
2008.
"I've often said
that if Michelle Obama had natural hair when Barack Obama was
running for President, he would not have won because her natural hair
would have signified certain things to people. It would signify that
she's some sort of militant, neo-Black Panther, frightening" Adichie
explains.
In a recent interview on BET, the 36-year-old The Haves and the Have Nots star who is expecting her first child, was asked
about the Nigerian writer's comment.
"You can have natural hair and still blow it out and it'll be
straight," she started saying. "I've had hair where it looked permed
but it wasn't. It was in my natural state but I just blew it out. I
don't know. I mean... What does that mean?"
Parker chipped in, saying just the fact that they earned their spot
in the White House as an African-American family is proof enough that
nothing else matters.
"I would say that Barack Hussein Obama... Who thought he could be
president?" he said. "Then who thought a Black family would be in the
White House anyway? No offense to the author, but I think he still
would've been elected."
"I don't know if I can even answer that question," Tika added. "I
think the character of these two would've shined through regardless.
Natural hair or not. I don't really know. I mean, I understand what
she's saying, but I don't really know about that. That's a pretty
intense statement because you're basing an outside characteristic on the
character of the human being."
Photo credit: Rolling Stone/Tika Sumpter/Instagram
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