Thandiwe Newton Sparks Furore Over “Our Ex-Colony” Remarks On Zimbabwe

British-Zimbabwean actress Melanie Thandiwe Newton has sparked a furore over her remarks about Zimbabwe.  Newton courted the ire of many Zimbabweans when she referred to the country as “our ex-colony.”

The colonial reference has been roundly condemned on social media as being disrespectful, condescending and imperialistic.

Thandiwe Newton is a staunch advocate for Zimbabwe and does not hide her love for the Southern African country. She often speaks out against human rights abuses. Ironically, she made the “our ex-colony” remarks while speaking up for a documentary film about Zimbabwe’s 2018 presidential elections.

The actress was upset that “The President” documentary film was not selected for the BFI London Film Festival 2021 and questioned the selection process. She later apologised to the organisers for what she had said and, in the process, made the faux pass remarks about Zimbabwe.

Writing on social media platform Twitter, Newton said,

@BFI I apologise for my comments (in) @Variety

challenging your integrity in not accepting #President #LFF2021. As a British Zimbabwean, I’m devastated by the human rights abuses being suffered in our ex-colony. My upset was personal, and I was wrong to accuse. Thandiwe #LoveZimbabwe.

Unsurprisingly, the remarks did not sit well with many Zimbabweans due to the legacy of colonialism. Some social media users accused Newton of having a colonial mentality. Others said the remarks were condescending and disrespectful, especially since Zimbabwe has been independent since 1980. They accused Thandiwe of having an agenda towards the country.

However, others were more charitable and attributed the ‘our ex-colony remarks’ to poor word selection rather than malice. They called on the actress to be mindful of her words, especially when commenting on sensitive topics like colonialism.

Below are some of the responses from social media to Thandiwe Newton’s remarks about Zimbabwe being ‘our ex-colony.’

.@BFI I apologise for my comments @Variety challenging your integrity in not accepting #President #LFF2021. As a British Zimbabwean I’m devastated by the human rights abuses being suffered in our ex colony. My upset was personal, and I was wrong to accuse. Thandiwe #LoveZimbabwe pic.twitter.com/oxFzuCLBc8

— Thandiwe Newton (@ThandiweNewton) January 30, 2022

 

Remember your last act on the screen Thandie in the Rogue Series; Cole Hauser threw you into a pile of waste. That was your last shift. And you came up with the rebranding idea; first changing your name from Thandie and back to Thandiwe and suddenly you are on active Zim politics pic.twitter.com/1natelE06f

— Hector (@HectorMarimo) January 31, 2022

I find Thandiwe Newton’s posts on Zim histrionic to the point of being amusing sometimes but I’ve always thought it was part of her whole “actress luvvie” schtick.

This though, referring to Zimbabwe as “our ex-colony” is not amusing at all but revealing of a deeper agenda. https://t.co/paS4MJoDz9

— Petina Gappah (@VascoDaGappah) January 31, 2022

Dear @ThandiweNewton,
I find it very distasteful for you to refer to #Zimbabwe as your ex colony, NOTWITHSTANDING that you`re correct to lament human rights violations in #Zimbabwe. For the record, we`re #Zimbabwe NOT your ex colon. That reference is DISGUSTING!#RegisterToVoteZW https://t.co/CYxQZrk3Jn

— Ishmael Mazorodze 🌐🌎 (@IshmaelMaz) January 31, 2022

So in her little mind she is not one of us but we are an ex colony of theirs! https://t.co/ZJM8wxwqVg

— Tichaona Mutwiwa (@MutwiwaTichaona) January 31, 2022

Dear @ThandiweNewton. You have been doing great work and i salute that. But please please, never refer to ZIMBABWE as “your/our ex-colony”. Its sufficient to say “you are concerned about human rights abused in ZIMBABWE”. Language is very key! https://t.co/IOigv9g1Ei

— Dr.Justice A Mavedzenge (@Dr_JAMavedzenge) January 31, 2022

Thandie @ThandiweNewton the fact that you still refer to a country that has been independent for over 40 years as "our ex-colony" speaks volumes as to how out of touch you are with African politics! That condescending tone is regrettable! https://t.co/eFxahjXCcj

— Lloyd Msipa (@LloydMsipa) January 31, 2022

Dear @ThandiweNewton ,
It's 2022. Yet you still invoke your British WHITE privilege to describe a Black nation, Zimbabwe, as "our ex colony". You reduce our proud identities, rich history and heritage to YOUR white racist British colonial history.@BFI @Variety @BritishVogue https://t.co/fDGesvBBpU

— Zimbology 🇿🇼 (@zimbology) January 31, 2022

But…but…our former col.. ah never mind https://t.co/ZLPVJp3Xu0 pic.twitter.com/OtUaGxISTs

— Ranga.🇿🇼 (@RangaMberi) January 31, 2022