Beyonce In Sarah Baartman Movie? — Why Fans Don’t Want Her To Play Saartjie

Beyonce Film Controversy — Why Fans Don’t Want Her To Play Sarah Baartman In Biopic

Beyonce may be known as being 'bootylicious' but fans flipped out Jan. 4 when it was revealed she was seeking to tell the story of Saartjie 'Sarah' Baartman, the 19th century South African woman who was paraded around Europe in freak shows for her enormous backside. We know Beyonce wants film glory after being upstaged by Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls, but the latest project she was supposedly attached to has fans in an uproar. She was reportedly set to write, direct and star in a film about Saartjie "Sarah" Baartman, whose enormous posterior made her a "freak show" attraction around Britain and France in the early 1800's. After public outcry over her allegedly taking on the role, she's now distancing herself from it.

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January 7, 2016 5:13PM EST

Beyonce Sarah Baartman Movie — Image Credit: Getty/Wikimedia

Beyonce performs during the Formation World Tour at Qualcomm Stadium, in San Diego, California
Beyonce - The Formation World Tour - , San Diego, USA — Image Credit: Getty/Wikimedia

Following the massive public backlash when word broke that Queen Bey wanted to tell Sarah’s story, her rep told Billboard magazine that, “Beyonce is in no way tied to this project. This is an important story that should be told, however.” But it seemed pretty clear earlier this week that she was on board with wanting to share Sarah’s tragic life and young, impoverished death with the world. So did fan anger cause her to walk away? We’ll never know but one thing’s for sure, the outrage that she wanted to have total control of a project about Sarah’s dramatic life was huge and real.

https://twitter.com/prescelto_/status/684285772858560513

Sarah Baartman's body – 200 years from freak show to museum exhibit to Beyonce movie. Depressing stuff.https://t.co/o88CBZQ1jG

— Martin Myers (@DrMartinMyers) January 7, 2016

Beyonce wants to play Sarah Baartman but can't even perform in SA? She can wait.

— Koki Neo Maforah (@Co_key) January 5, 2016

When you hear Beyoncé will play Sarah Baartman in a movie about her life 🙆🏾 pic.twitter.com/FyhJ1u6xeF

— uSweethat (@Andile_Gamedze) January 4, 2016

Also can we stop using American actors to tell the story of South African icons???

Why must Beyonce play Sarah Baartman???

— Ngwana wa Bakwena (@Leboux_M) January 4, 2016

South Africans when they received the news that Beyoncé is gonna be playing Sarah Baartman in a new movie pic.twitter.com/nP0iQstKw2

— AKA & Man U devotee (@Moses_Nku) January 4, 2016

>>>> Then Beyoncè wants to create and star in a Saartjie Baartman movie. Yet again our stories are being told by other people.

— Bongani_Drama™ (Magister Technologiae) (@Bongani_Drama) January 4, 2016

Even the leader of the South African tribe Sarah belonged to slammed the notion of Beyonce taking on the part. “She lacks the basic human dignity to be worthy of writing Sarah’s story, let alone playing the part,” Chief Jean Burgess of the Ghonaqua First Peoples told News24. “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.”

HollywoodLifers, do you think Beyonce should have been part of this project?