Alexandra Shipp has been getting backlash for years since she began playing Storm in the “X-Men” film series back in 2016. Many fans have said that it is time for darker skinned Black women to play the comic book character, considering she was an African queen. Some folks on social media have campaigned for Kiki Layne, who is in “If Beale Street Could Talk,” to replace Shipp as Storm. Well, Shipp has had about enough — she slammed Black Twitter and made a strange reference to Black Lives Matter. Now she is getting pummeled even more.
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The 27-year-old wrote, “I won’t ever bad mouth a fellow actor. I won’t ever actively try to take another hard working actor’s job. Y’all can keep trying to pin black women against each other but it won’t work on me, honey. Stay blessed.”
She continued, “Black twitter is so powerful. One second we’re trying to rally and define why our lives matter, the next we’re making each other feel like we’re not worthy of one. I’ll only spread and give love, no matter what tone my skin falls under. Bless up y’all ima go back to work x.”
Just a little background on Storm: she is one of the most iconic comic book characters in history. She was born Ororo Munroe and raised in Harlem and Cairo. Her mother was a tribal princess from Kenya, and her father was a photojournalist. She was orphaned as a child after her parents were killed during the Arab–Israeli conflict. After meeting Professor X, she joined the X-Men. She also married Black Panther and was queen consort of Wakanda during their marriage.
Back in July, the actress told Glamour, “[I tweeted back] at people who criticized me for not having dark enough skin for my role in X-Men because we’re not going to have this conversation about a cartoon character. You’re not going to tell me that my skin color doesn’t match a Crayola from 1970. Growing up, when I was reading the comics, I pictured her looking like me. For any Black girl, for there to be a Black superhero, we picture them looking like us.”
She continued, “This conversation about Storm is so stupid, I’m out…. If I lose my job to another actress, I hope it’s for her talent and grace, not her skin [color]. When I auditioned for the role, I wasn’t like, ‘Oh man, I’m not dark enough.’ I was like, ‘Finally, this is my moment.’” Shipp also added, “I’m not playing Harriet Tubman with a prosthetic nose and darkening my skin tone. I would never do that.”
Well, Shipp’s tweets from yesterday didn’t seem to help. She is getting slammed. See below: