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Nina Simone's Daughter on Biopic: Mom's Companion was Gay

Very interesting. Nina Simone's daughter has finally broken her silence on the proposed biopic based on her mother's life. Simone's daughter has questioned the "love story" angle of the film ... and revealed that the late and iconic singer's former nurse and manager was gay.

Zoe Saldana has been cast as the lead in Nina. David Oyelowo will star as her former manager Clifton Henderson. Simone's daughter Lisa Celeste Stroud commented on the screenplay's plot in a Facebook post, reports Shadow and Act.

When the announcement initially hit the press with MJ Blige cast as Nina (about 6 yrs ago) I heard it along with everyone else. The story was written as a love story between my mother and her former nurse, Clifton Henderson and primarily takes place during the last 8 years of her life. Please note, this project is unauthorized. The Nina Simone Estate was never asked permission nor invited to participate. ...

Clifton Henderson was gay. He was not attracted to women. So, the truth is...Nina Simone and Clifton Henderson NEVER had a relationship other than a business one. Please correct me, but isn't a biopic the story of one's life? ...

For all she endured while here and all of the lives she has touched, she DESERVES to be remembered for who she truly was; not some made up love story from a former nurse/manager (now deceased) who sold his life rights because of his relationship to Nina Simone.

Eunice Kathleen Waymon was born in  North Carolina in 1931. She later adopted the stage name "Nina Simone" and rose to international acclaim as a singer-songwriter in the 1950s. Simone later became heavily involved in the civil rights movement in the late 1960s and early 1960s. She died in France in 2003.

Lisa Stroud is the daughter of Andy Stroud, who was the married to Nina Simone from 1961 to 1970. Stroud was also the singer's manager during the turbulent civil rights era.

The daughter also takes a subtle swipe at the decision to cast Zoe Saldana as her mother: "As a child, my mother was told her nose was too big and she was too dark yet she graduated valedictorian of her high school class."

Cynthia Mort wrote the script and has been attached as to the independent feature film. Mary J. Blige was previously attached to lead the project but later "moved on due to funding issues," notes the Hollywood Reporter. "The movie is due to begin production Oct. 16 in Los Angeles."

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Blige in Nina Simone Biopic
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News: NJ Gay Marriage Ruling?, LL Likes Facials, Nina Simone Remixed

· The New Jersey Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, widely expected to have been issued this week to coincide with the retirement of Chief Justice Deborah T. Poritz, will apparently go-ahead as scheduled. The court website says to expect a ruling on Mark Lewis, et al. v. Gwendolyn L. Harris et al. by 3pm on Wednesday. (Thanks for update Andy!)

· LL Cool J is spotted in London and he "may not be so hard after all. While staying at London's Landmark Hotel recently he inquired about the 'best place I can get a facial around here'. "

· Reichen Lehmkuhl now claims he was the victim of a hazing-related sexual assault while a cadet in the Air Force Academy in the early 90s. (via Queerty)

· Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has publicly endorsed Referendum I, the Nov. 7 ballot initiative that would allow gay couples to register as domestic partners and obtain many of the legal rights given to married couples. Meanwhile, Colorado's Roman Catholic bishops are urging parishioners to vote for Amendment 43, which would amend the state constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

· Modern Fabulosity reviews the latest soul/jazz legend to undergo a modern and fabulous re-interpretation, Nina Simone: Remixed and Reimagined. "The trend started a few years ago with Verve Remixed, but this collection might be the strongest ever, with songs like "The Look of Love" and "My Man's Gone now" being transformed by Coldcut, Francois K. and Tony Humphries."

Nina Simone in "Fader"

There is an absolutely brilliant tribute to Nina Simone in the current issue of the Fader. The editors have published a rare collection of pictures that were taken in the 1960s—mostly candid shots of the icon interacting with friends. "Nina Simone: A Song in Many Parts" is accompanied by spot-on commentary by both contemporaries and present-day performers. Below, Ms. Simone as she prepares to perform at Carnegie Hall, 1964.

Dick Gregory, the stand-up comedian and social activist, marched with Nina many times during the civil rights era of the 1960s: "She wasn't that visible because she came didn't come down to sing, she came down to march. I think her nervous breakdown was probably caused by being on the frontline and seeing what actually happened to black folks."

Andy Stroud (above) was married to Nina Simone from 1961 to 1970. He was her longtime business manager and maintains NinaSimone.biz: "When she started writing protest songs, she would see Aretha and Nancy Wilson doing guest appearances and she would go into a frenzy, like 'Why ain't I?!?' I said, 'You can't scream and holler about killing white people and think they're going to have you as an entertainer.' "

Jill Scott met Nina Simone "at a show in Philadelphia five or six years ago. She was so very regal; always wearing her hair natural and always accenting her distinctively African features. To be such a classic beauty, a black woman unabashed, and have the world tell you you're not—the treatment of Nina Simone was rude and very disrespectful."

Kenny Dope, the New York City DJ, is one-half of the legendary Masters at Work production duo that remixed Nina's "See-Line Woman" for Verve Remixed. "We didn't have masters. Her recording was amazing, it was recorded in the 1960s—we just found the break. Her spirit is totally there."

Speaking of Nina Simone's indefatigable spirit ... Black America Web columnist Tonya Weathersbee essays Simone's anthemic "Mississippi Goddam" and the refusal of Haley Barbour—that state's governor and former Republican National chair—to issue a posthumous pardon to wrongly convicted Clyde Kennard, recently profiled here at Rod 2.0.

"Nina Simone: A Song in Many Parts" (The Fader)

It’s Time for a Chorus of Nina Simone’s ‘Mississippi Goddam’ (BAW)

Nina Simone: Revisited (VIBE.com)

NinaSimone.biz

Verve Remixed

Masters at Work

Previously:

Mississippi: No Pardons. Ever. (Rod 2.0)

See Also:

New at Rod 2.0—Divas!

Blige in Nina Simone Biopic

The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul meets the High Priestess of Soul. Mary J. Blige is attached to a star in a Nina Simone biopic. The as-yet untitled project would be the singer's first starring role in a film. If written and directed carefully, this could be very interesting—there's no replacing Nina Simone, but Mary would be the perfect vehicle to introduce the legendary singer's music and the turbulent 1960s to a generation of apathetic couch potatoes. Let's just keep you-know-who away from this project, mm'kay?

Speaking of MJB, did anyone catch her new video?