OlderDakota Fanning Defends Her New Movie 'Sweetness in the Belly' After Whitewashing Claims
Dakota Fanning is defending her new movie, Sweetness in the Belly, after allegations of whitewashing in the film.
In the upcoming movie, the 25-year-old actress stars as a young woman who was abandoned in Africa and then raised Muslim.
“Just to clarify. In the new film I’m part of, Sweetness in the Belly, I do not play an Ethiopian woman. I play a British woman abandoned by her parents at seven years old in Africa and raised Muslim. My character, Lilly, journeys to Ethiopia and is caught up in the breakout of civil war. She is subsequently sent ‘home’ to England, a place she is from but has never known,” Dakota posted on her Instagram Story to clarify that she plays a white woman in the movie.
“Based on a book by Camilla Gibb, this film was partly made in Ethiopia, is directed by an Ethiopian man and features many Ethiopian women. It was a great privilege to be part of telling this story.”
Dakota added, “The film is about what home means to people who find themselves displaced and the families and communities that they choose and that choose them.”
Sweetness in the Belly is set to debut at the Toronto Film Festival this coming week.
Click inside to see her statement…
