Ten years later, and rapper Lil’ Kim still isn’t checking for the 2009 biopic about late rapper The Notorious B.I.G., “Notorious.” The “Crush On You” rapper admitted that she hates the film — an opinion she’s made public several times, but most recently, she echoed those sentiments during an Instagram Live conversation with rapper Fat Joe.
On Saturday, Aug. 15, Kim, Fat Joe, and Kim’s on-again, off-again boyfriend and father of her child, Mr. Papers, sat down for the discussion on Kim’s thoughts on the film. “Yeah, no. No. I hate that movie. To me, it was like a spoof,” the rapper admitted. She added, “It was something that I would have never approved. I didn’t like who played me. No. No, no, no, no.”
In the film, Lil’ Kim’s character is portrayed by “Power” star Naturi Naughton, but Kim said she would have preferred an unknown, up and coming actress from Brooklyn to have played her. The 46-year-old then said she wouldn’t have minded playing herself in the movie.
“I would go to Brooklyn and find a girl within that period that I feel represents Brooklyn, knows what it’s like to grow up in Brooklyn,” Kim explained. “And then once I got in the movie, and I get a little older, I would play myself from that stage. But from that point, I gotta go to Brooklyn and give some little girl from Brooklyn a chance to really, really show, I know who Lil Kim is for real.” The rapper also believed that Naughton looked nothing like her and claimed that the actress didn’t reach out before working on the film.
Kim initially stated her disapproval about the film prior to its release in 2009. The rapper released a statement complaining that the movie was filled with lies and false portrayals of her. Kim also said didn’t present an accurate depiction of the relationship between her and Biggie. “The film studio and producers involved were more concerned about painting me as a ‘character’ to create a more interesting storyline instead of a person with talent, self-respect and who was able to achieve her own career success through hard work,” Kim explained then.
She continued, “Even though my relationship with Big was at times very difficult and complicated — as with most relationships we have all experienced at one time or another — it was also genuine and built on great admiration and love for each other.”
Biggie’s mother, Voletta Wallace, caught wind of the rapper’s comments and replied quickly, saying the film had nothing to do with the “Big Momma Thang” rapper. “This is not a Lil’ Kim movie,” Wallace said. “This is a Christopher Wallace movie. It has nothing do with Lil’ Kim. If she’s disappointed and upset, that is her problem.”
