There might be a Saartjie Baartman flick at some point in the future; Beyonce just won’t be involved with it.
After reports surfaced that Bey would be writing and starring in a film telling the story of Baartman, a South African woman who was put on display in freak shows during the 1800s for her body shape. However, a rep for Queen Bey shut down the rumors yesterday, telling Billboard that there was no truth to the claims.
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“Beyonce is in no way tied to this project,” her rep said. “This is an important story that should be told, however.”
That doesn’t mean that a Baartman movie is off the table. Multiple South African officials have expressed their approval for the biopic, including Jack Devnarain, the chairman of the South African Guild of Actors.
“The story of Saartjie Baartman is a tale of torture and humiliation of a woman, womanhood in general and an entire culture indigenous to Southern Africa,” Devnarain said. “As an episode in South African history, it describes the crippling damage of racism, sexism and exploitation. Baartman was paraded as a freak and brutally robbed of her humanity. Her story needs to be told.”