Nia Long Says Netflix Movie ‘A Fatal Affair’ Lacked Diversity: ‘Maybe Three People on the Crew Were Black’

Netflix recently released another Obsessed remake called, A Fatal Affair starring Nia Long and Omar Epps. It immediately began trending on social media and it was met with negative reviews.

Nia revealed that she was disappointed due to the lack of diversity in the film. She said that Rasheeda Garner was hired after she agreed to do the movie. “I understand and respect our director, who is a white man.  He wanted to be respectful of my voice and I appreciate that. And that’s why he hired Rasheeda. So although it gave her an opportunity, I want more. I want more for her, I want more for myself, I want more for black female writers and directors in this business to not be used to fix something but to be used to tell our stories in a really authentic way.”

The veteran actress is hoping that this would open doors for Rasheeda. “Rasheeda and I have since become friends and I think she’s a wonderful writer.  The flipside of that is I hope and pray that she gets the opportunity to be in the forefront and not brought on because the lead of the film is Black. She should be able to write and tell stories as an African-American woman in this industry.”

But she also revealed that there were about three Black people on the crew. “In all honesty, I was disappointed that there were maybe three people on the crew that were Black, but that really is the production company’s responsibility, not the network.  By the time I arrived, they were a happy family that had done several films together.”

But of course this isn’t an issue that’s unique to A Fatal Affair. “This isn’t about ‘Fatal Affair,’ this is about a system. This is a systemic issue in Hollywood that has yet to be addressed in a fair way,” she said.

In other Nia Long related news, she recently spilled the tea that she was passed on a role on Charlie’s Angels. She said the film’s crew felt she was too old to portray Alex Munday in the 2000 blockbuster. “I was like, ‘What?’ I love Drew Barrymore, I think she’s amazing, but I think that was just a nice way to say you’re a little too Black. Personally, that’s what I think. Because if you notice there were no brown skin [actors]. I mean, honestly, I would have been the blackest thing in the film,” she revealed.

Lucy Liu, who is two years older than Long, ended up landing the role. “The feedback that I received from my agent was, ‘She just looked too old and sophisticated to be next to Drew Barrymore.’ And I’m thinking to myself, it’s an actor’s choice to walk in the room how they want to look, but it’s a director’s vision to help create and curate a character. So if you couldn’t see beyond the fact that I had on a blazer and a pair of jeans then that was clearly not the job and opportunity for me. So, no problem, I’ll keep it moving.“