Beyonce’s reps have shut down rumors that the superstar is planning to write and star in a film about a 1800’s South African woman named Saartjie Baartman.
Baartman was exhibited in freak shows under the name Hottentot Venus throughout Europe against her will in the 1800’s due to the shape of her body.
However upon rumors about Beyonce planning to bring Baartman’s story to the big screen her rep said, “Beyonce is in no way tied to this project. This is an important story that should be told, however.”
Jack Devnarain, chairman of the South African Guild of Actors, agreed. He told Billboard, “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. As an episode in South African history, it describes the crippling damage of racism, sexism and exploitation,” he said. “Baartman was paraded as a freak and brutally robbed of her humanity. Her story needs to be told.”
Beyonce’s current filmography currently includes starring roles in the films Austin Powers in Goldmember, The Fighting Temptations, Carmen: a Hip Hopera, Dreamgirls, The Pink Panther, Obsessed as well as lending her voice to the animated character Queen Tara in Epic.
