While HBO Max’s decision to temporarily remove “Gone With the Wind” from its streaming library in order to add historical context to the 1939 film caused an uproar for some, actress Queen Latifah says the film should be gone for good.
“Let ‘Gone with the Wind’ be gone with the wind,” Latifah said in an interview with the Associated Press last week.
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According to AP, some who criticized HBO Max’s removal of “Gone With the Wind” from its streaming service, were concerned whether the decision would taint the legacy of Hattie McDaniel, the first African American woman to win an Academy Award.
Latifah, who portrays McDaniel in the Netflix series “Hollywood," said the story behind McDaniel’s Oscar win for “Gone With the Wind” is not as shiny as the golden trophy, AP reports.
According to Latifah, McDaniel wasn’t allowed in the theater at the 1940 Oscar awards, and she was only brought in to recite an acceptance speech scripted by the studio.
“They didn’t even let her in the theater until right before she got that award. Someone came outside and brought her into the auditorium. She wasn’t even allowed to sit in there. And then she had to read a speech that was written by a studio. You know that’s not what the hell she wanted to say,” Latifah told the Associated Press.
“Then after that, all she could do was play the same kinds of roles… So the opportunities at that time and the way that those in power in that business were relegating us and marginalizing us and not allowing us to grow and thrive after that was just terrible. And a lot of that is still around today.”