Thandiwe Newton faces backlash for apologizing to "darker-skinned actresses" in emotional video

Thandiwe Newton apologized to "all the darker-skinned actresses" in an interview while promoting her new film, God’s Country.

While discussing her role as a professor confronting two white hunters on her property, Newton told the Associated Press on February 2 that she struggled to accept the role from the beginning. She said:

“I now realize that my internalized prejudice was stopping me from feeling like I could play this role, when it’s precisely that prejudice that I’ve received. It doesn’t matter it’s from African American women more than anyone else. It doesn’t matter. I received prejudice. Anyone who’s received oppression and prejudice feels this character.”

The 49-year-old said that she desperately wanted to apologize to the darker-skinned actresses and that her mother looked like them. She added that she is "taking their men, work, and truth" from them. According to Entertainment Tonight, Thandiwe Newton’s mother, Nyasha Newton, is a Shona tribe princess from Zimbabwe.

The Mission: Impossible 2 star said it has been painful to have women that look like her mother feel like she is not representing them. However, she said she believes she made a difference in her film career despite the painful experiences. She explained:

“I do think that any women of color who – whether they are pale, or whatever – who have managed to help other actors get into this business, we matter.”

She said that whenever they say that black women have watched the movie, it mattered to them and she thanked God that her light skin did not stop that from happening and did not cause more pain.

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Netizens are unhappy with Thandiwe Newton’s apology

Despite Thandiwe Newton being emotional while apologizing, Twitter users reacted to the incident in their own way. The majority of the public was furious over the portion where she said "taking their men."

Most users questioned whether her "husband was white," "which darker-skinned women’s men she stole," and what she was specifically referring to:

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The Reminiscence actress has spoken about her experience as a biracial actor to Vulture in 2020. She said at the time:

“All these Black people in the public eye who are Black, and you don’t think about their white parents. Like on my Instagram, it’s always my mum.”

She said that she does not want to put up with her father since she wants black people to feel they can trust her and feel safe with her.

Thandiwe Newton was criticized by the public for her apology (Image via Chris Delmas/Getty Images)

She added that she was not a representative of the "establishment that degrades people of color," and throughout her career, she felt like she was not a legitimate black person to black people.

Newton also mentioned that she had been perceived differently throughout her career, and most individuals questioned if she was Black enough or too Black.

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'God’s Country' release date, cast, and more

God’s Country is adapted from a short story by author James Lee Burke. It marks the feature film debut of director Julian Higgins, who also wrote the screenplay with writer Shaye Ogbonna.

Miranda Bailey and Amanda Marshall are the producers of the film alongside Anthony Ciardelli and The Film Arcade’s Jason Beck as executive producers.

Released on January 23, 2022, the film is set in the backdrop of Mountain West, where Thandie Newton’s character, Sandra, is a small-town college professor who gets involved in a confrontation with a pair of trespassing hunters.