British actor Daniel Kaluuya is responding to backlash he’s received over his portrayal of Black Panther chairman Fred Hampton in an upcoming biopic. Critics on social media have expressed that a Black American should play the role. Those are criticisms Kaluuya has addressed in an interview with Variety magazine.
The film, “Judas and the Black Messiah,” is set to release Feb. 12. When the trailer for the film dropped in August 2020, social media users doled out criticism about the British actor portraying Hampton, an Illinois native who was deputy chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Panthers.
Of the backlash, Kaluuya said, “I’m a vessel for a spirit that is going through me. “It’s important for us as Black people across the diaspora to be together. And that’s not to discount what Black Americans feel, what they’ve been through. It’s not about me. It’s about chairman Fred Hampton.”
The film, directed by Shaka King, is the first biopic about the Black Panther Party leader who died 51 years ago in a predawn raid of his Chicago apartment coordinated by the Chicago Police Department and the FBI.
Akua Njeri, who was engaged to 21-year-old Hampton at the time of his death, and her son Fred Hampton Jr. reportedly have approved of Kaluuya portraying the legendary activist. Njeri was pregnant with Hampton Jr. at the time of the raid.
Kaluuya traveled to Chicago to get the approval of Hampton’s family. “We had to declare who we were and what our intentions were,” he said.
During a conversation between Hampton Jr., producer Ryan Coogler, and King, the son of the civil rights hero said his father would approve of the selection of Kaluuya, and pointed to international chapters of the Black Panther movement, adding, “this is a global story,” according to LADbible.
Tensions surrounding British actors’ portrayal of Black American historical figures aren’t entirely uncommon. British actress Cynthia Erivo received backlash when she was cast to portray the rule of abolitionist Harriet Tubman in the 2019 film “Harriet.”
“Judas and the Black Messiah” that also stars Lakeith Stanfield, Lil Rel Howery and Algee Smith is scheduled for release on Feb. 12.
