Oscar award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o’s new movie role was the subject of contention over the weekend.
American movie giant Warner Media decided to cast Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o for the role of a Nigerian character in a new movie, ‘Americanah’.
The movie is based on a book by the same title by award-winning Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
“HBO Max orders limited series ‘Americanah’ based on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s best-selling novel of the same name. The 10-episode series will star Lupita Nyong’o with the pilot written by the showrunner,” posted the American movie maker.
HBO Max orders limited series 'Americanah' based on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s best-selling novel of the same name. The 10-episode series will star @Lupita_Nyongo with the pilot written by showrunner @DanaiGurira: https://t.co/ncZXyTMvzT pic.twitter.com/deDrJtUzE4
— WarnerMedia (@WarnerMedia) September 13, 2019
‘Americanah’, which just earned a straight-to-series order from HBO Max, follows a Nigerian woman named Ifemelu (Nyong’o) and “her extraordinary experiences with love, heartache, adversity and self-discovery” as she travels to America, per the official synopsis.
Nigerians were however displeased with the movie maker’s decision to have a Kenyan character and not Nigerian arguing the role would have been best suited for a Nigerian actress mostly because of bringing out the Nigerian accent.
Kenyans on Twitter, in their typical nature, have hit back by telling off Nigerians to live with the reality of Lupita’s role in the new movie.
The showrunner Danai Gurira and lead actress Lupita Nyong’o played various key roles in the award-winning Black Panther movie.
