Hot Seat: Thandiwe Newton speaks on racism and politics in Zimbabwe
By Keith Mlauzi | Nehanda Showbiz |
British actress Thandiwe Newton formerly known as Thandie Newton set down on journalist Violet Gonda’s Hot Seat show where they discussed a number of things including racism and the political situation in Zimbabwe.
Thandiwe, a British actress with Zimbabwean roots, opened up on how as a woman of color she had suffered from racism, sexism and misogyny in the film industry.
“I have been an actress for over 30 years now. I suffered misogyny and sexism,” she said. She adds that her current acting role in the HBO series WestWorld helped served as a wakeup call for her to reclaim her position.
“While acting on WestWorld I realized that as an actress of color I have been lied to all my life. I have been lied to about the power that I carry within me.”
Thandiwe also revealed that she had initially changed her name from Thandie because as a kid she was ‘shy’ of her full name and it was difficult as other people found it difficult to pronounce it, and that she spent years worrying if she reverts to her real name she would lose her fans.
“As a kid I was shy of my name and people called me Thandie because Thandiwe was so much of a mouthful for them. For many years I was worried that if I revert to my full name I would lose my fans but as a grown woman you realize it’s not about this fame any more, people will still find me. If I can be called Thandiwe in the movies I also can be called Thandiwe in real life,” she said.
Speaking about politics which she has been very much involved into lately, Thandiwe said as a human rights activist it’s hard for her to ignore what’s happening in Zimbabwe and she has been doing a lot of work in Zimbabwe.
“I am a human rights activist and I’m involved in work with a number of organizations in Zimbabwe but don’t want it to be known because it ends up being political you know.
“When I saw that Tsitsi Dangarembga had been arrested that’s when I was like, I had to help Tsitsi first… and Hopewell Chin’ono and Joanah Mamombe being abducted and then being told it’s all false,” she said.
Quizzed which political party she supports in Zimbabwe, Thandiwe said she doesn’t support any but had a few words for opposition leader Nelson Chamisa.
“I do not support any political party in Zimbabwe, because if I do id need to be on the ground to relate with the environment.
“Nelson Chamisa, there so many obstacles that seem to be erected, he has to innovate and keep growing and changing to meet the demands of the people and I hope that he will.
“In a democracy you know let’s hope that he provides good opposition, the people of Zimbabwe deserve it and I hope that he gets good opposition too,” said Thandiwe. Nehanda Radio
