Whitney Houston fans blast Naomi Ackie for not resembling the R&B belter in first trailer for biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody
On Thursday, Sony Pictures unveiled the first trailer for its fully-authorized Whitney Houston biopic – I Wanna Dance with Somebody – but fans were concerned that Naomi Ackie didn’t resemble her enough.
The British 30-year-old (The Score, Master of None) ‘put in a year of rigorous preparation’ to embody the late R&B belter and also executive produced Kasi Lemmons’ film hitting US theaters December 21.
And while Whitney fans praised Naomi’s speaking voice – they took to Twitter to say she looked more like Houston’s Cinderella castmate Brandy, Heather Headley, or Alfre Woodard.
What do you think? On Thursday, Sony Pictures unveiled the first trailer for its fully-authorized Whitney Houston biopic – I Wanna Dance with Somebody – but fans were concerned that Naomi Ackie didn’t resemble her enough
The preview begins in 1983 with Cissy Houston (Tamara Tunie) telling her 20-year-old daughter nicknamed ‘Nippy’ to sing for her at her New York nightclub, Sweetwaters, because she had lost her voice.
Whitney is then seen singing the first line of How Will I Know in front of RCA Music Group CEO Clive Davis (Stanley Tucci), which is historically inaccurate.
It was Arista Records A&R rep Gerry Griffith who was at Sweetwaters – not Clive – and Houston reportedly sang Diana Ross’ 1978 Wiz song Home – not her 1985 global hit.
Regardless, Davis – who’s an executive producer on the biopic – did go on to sign Whitney to a worldwide record deal launching her career into the stratosphere.
Side-by-side comparison: The British 30-year-old (The Score, Master of None) ‘put in a year of rigorous preparation’ to embody the late R&B belter and also executive produced Kasi Lemmons’ film hitting US theaters December 21
‘Looks nothing like Whitney’: And while Whitney fans praised Naomi’s speaking voice – they took to Twitter to say she looked more like Houston’s Cinderella castmate Brandy, Heather Headley, or Alfre Woodard
A radio DJ is seen confronting Houston over the ‘common criticism’ that her ‘music isn’t black enough.’
The six-time Grammy winner – who was famously booed at the Soul Train Awards in 1989 – clapped back: ‘Look, I don’t know how to sing black, and I don’t know how to sing white either. I know how to sing.’
There’s shots of Whitney acting in The Bodyguard, her 1998 music video It’s Not Right but It’s Okay, as well as her Super Bowl rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner (which was technically lip-synced).
‘My dream? Sing what I want to sing, be how I want to be,’ Houston says in the trailer.
‘My voice is gone. You start the show tonight’: The preview begins in 1983 with Cissy Houston (R, Tamara Tunie) telling her 20-year-old daughter nicknamed ‘Nippy’ to sing for her at her New York nightclub, Sweetwaters
Historically inaccurate: Whitney is then seen singing the first line of How Will I Know in front of RCA Music Group CEO Clive Davis (Stanley Tucci)
‘That don’t even make sense in her timeline!’ It was Arista Records A&R rep Gerry Griffith who was at Sweetwaters – not Clive – and Houston reportedly sang Diana Ross’ 1978 Wiz song Home – not her 1985 global hit
Success: Regardless, Davis – who’s an executive producer on the biopic – did go on to sign Whitney to a worldwide record deal launching her career into the stratosphere
Challenges: A radio DJ is seen confronting Houston over the ‘common criticism’ that her ‘music isn’t black enough’
The six-time Grammy winner – who was famously booed at the Soul Train Awards in 1989 – clapped back: ‘Look, I don’t know how to sing black, and I don’t know how to sing white either. I know how to sing’
‘Reach as big an audience as I can.’
Some fans were relieved the preview did not include Whitney’s substantial drug problems, which worsened during her 14-year marriage to Bobby Brown (Ashton Sanders).
There was also no sign of the musical couple’s late daughter Bobbi Kristina (Bria Danielle Singleton), but there were two scenes featuring her roommate-turned-executive assistant Robyn Crawford (Nafessa Williams).
Crawford detailed their lesbian love in her 2019 memoir A Song for You: ‘She said we shouldn’t be physical any more, because it would make our journey even more difficult. She said if people find out about us, they would use this against us, and back in the 80s that’s how it felt.’
Memorable moments: There’s shots of Whitney acting in The Bodyguard, her 1998 music video It’s Not Right but It’s Okay, as well as her Super Bowl rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner (which was technically lip-synced)
Houston says in the trailer: ‘My dream? Sing what I want to sing, be how I want to be. Reach as big an audience as I can’
1992 wedding: Some fans were relieved the preview did not include Whitney’s substantial drug problems, which worsened during her 14-year marriage to Bobby Brown (Ashton Sanders)
Sapphic pair: There was also no sign of the musical couple’s late daughter Bobbi Kristina (Bria Danielle Singleton), but there were two scenes featuring her roommate-turned-executive assistant Robyn Crawford (R, Nafessa Williams)
Crawford detailed their lesbian love in her 2019 memoir A Song for You: ‘She said we shouldn’t be physical any more, because it would make our journey even more difficult. She said if people find out about us, they would use this against us, and back in the 80s that’s how it felt’
‘Whitney deserves better’: I Wanna Dance with Somebody was also executive produced by Denis O’Sullivan and written by Anthony McCarten – the men behind the forgettable 2018 Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody
I Wanna Dance with Somebody was also executive produced by Denis O’Sullivan and written by Anthony McCarten – the men behind the forgettable 2018 Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
Houston tragically died, age 48, in 2012 from an accidental drowning as well as atherosclerotic heart disease, and she had five drugs in her system including cocaine.
During her nearly three-decade career, Whitney released seven albums, acted in five movies, and sold over 200M records worldwide.
RIP: Houston tragically died, age 48, in 2012 from an accidental drowning as well as atherosclerotic heart disease, and she had five drugs in her system including cocaine (pictured in 1988)
Icon: During her nearly three-decade career, Whitney released seven albums, acted in five movies, and sold over 200M records worldwide (pictured in 1990)
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