Viola Davis and Woman King’s director defend against boycott

• The Woman King actress Viola Davis and director Gina Prince-Bythewood are speaking out.
• In an interview with Variety earlier this week, Davis was asked about the film, which some feel “doesn’t address the Dahomey Kingdom’s involvement in slavery.
• Prince-Bythewood, indeed, did tell IndieWire in an interview published Saturday.

The Woman King star Viola Davis and the movie’s director Gina Prince-Bythewood are talking about the #BoycottWomanKing backlash on social media.

In an interview with Variety this week, Davis was asked about the movie, which some people think “doesn’t address the Dahomey Kingdom’s involvement in slavery,” the outlet said.

“First of all, I agree with Gina Prince-Bythewood that you can’t win an argument on Twitter,” the 57-year-old Oscar winner said. “When we came into the story, the kingdom was in a state of change and at a fork in the road.”

She said, “They wanted to find a way to keep their culture and kingdom going. Not until the end of the 1800s did they die out. A lot of the story is made up. It’s a must.”

Produced by Davis and her husband Julius Tennon, “The Woman King is the remarkable story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen.”

In a Saturday interview with IndieWire, Prince-Bythewood did say, “I learned early on that you can’t win an argument on Twitter.”

“And I know all of that will go away once they see the movie,” said the 53-year-old director. “There’s a belief that we’re not doing anything about it, but we are. So I have to be sure of myself. They are going to see the movie and will see it.”

Tennon, who is 68 years old, told the magazine Variety, “We’re now what we call “edu-tainment.” Even though it’s history, we have to be creative. People need to be entertained. A documentary would be if we just taught a history lesson, which we could have done.”

“People wouldn’t be at the movies like we were this weekend, which is too bad. We didn’t want to avoid telling the truth, “he or she added. “History is a huge topic, and there are facts about it. People can do more research if they want to find out more.”

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