She had declined a role in a film about Dahomey because, it was suspected, of her slavery past. This time, Lupita Nyong’o, the Oscar-winning model and actress, has accepted with both feet to become the face of the new De Beers campaign (Where it Begins).
Although having made a spectacular turnaround to conform to the new South Africa by selling around 26% of its assets in 2006 to a black group, Ponaholo Investments, within the framework of the positive discrimination policy called Black Economic Empowerment (BEE ), the De Beers group has a history linked to Apartheid, this exceptional regime that fell in 1991.
This heavy legacy of De Beers did not bother the actress born in Mexico City to Kenyan diplomat parents. Lupita Nyongo’o said she was “honoured to be De Beers’ first global ambassador”. And to intone emphatically: “this campaign brings to life the transformative power I feel when I wear diamond creations. Most importantly, my partnership with De Beers allows me to expand my advocacy for women and girls around the world”.
The beliefs that led the actress to refuse to play in “Woman King”, a film that revisits the past of Dahomey while ignoring its role in the slave trade, would they already belong to the pantheon of revolutions?
The film boycotted by the young actress saw its promotion barred by a hashtag #BoycottWomanKing that appeared on Twitter as soon as it was released in the USA on September 16.
As for the De Beers campaign, it will have already gained visibility by the choice of the most visible actress in Hollywood. The diamond has spoken.