Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Freida Pinto 'reduced to tears' after being confronted over 'black erasure' in Guerilla TV show

Indian actress reportedly left visibly upset after criticism of her casting in new series Guerilla

Jacob Stolworthy
Saturday 08 April 2017 05:24 EDT
Comments
(Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Indian actor Freida Pinto was reportedly left in tears after being confronted over the "erasure" of black women in a new TV drama about civil rights in which she stars.

Pinto features alongside Idris Elba in Sky Atlantic drama Guerilla, which tells the story of the Black Power movement in 70s London, and attended a special screening event and live panel on Friday when the confrontation occurred.

But, according to the i newspaper, the Indian actress was said to have become upset on stage as people at the event accused the show's makers of “black erasure” for what they claimed was its failure to properly represent black women.


An audience member told The Sun: “Frieda was left stunned and didn’t know what to do when a barrage of questions came in about why they had cast an Asian lady as a lead character."

Despite these claims, others present at the event have since suggested the tone of the discussion had not been as hostile as first reported.

Activist Wail Qasim said on Twitter: "The questions asked and discussion had was frankly tame."

The series is from12 Years a Slave scribe John Ridley.

Guerilla starts this Thursday on Sky Atlantic with the first of six episodes.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in