{"id":437299,"date":"2019-04-02T01:58:28","date_gmt":"2019-04-02T08:58:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/?p=437299"},"modified":"2026-02-12T17:20:38","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T01:20:38","slug":"the-anti-blackness-in-critiques-of-lupita-nyongo-in-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/2019\/04\/02\/the-anti-blackness-in-critiques-of-lupita-nyongo-in-us\/","title":{"rendered":"The Anti-Blackness in Critiques of Lupita Nyong\u2019o in Us"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Anti-Blackness in Critiques of Lupita Nyong\u2019o in Us<\/i><\/strong><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Da\u2019Shaun Harrison<\/strong><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

***THIS ARTICLE DOES INCLUDE SPOILERS***<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jordan Peele\u2019s sophomore film, <\/span>Us<\/span><\/i><\/a>, <\/span><\/i>debuted just days ago, March 22, 2019. In an interview for <\/span>Variety<\/span><\/i><\/a>, <\/span><\/i>Lupita Nyong\u2019o, who plays both of the main characters in the film, tells the interviewer that she was \u201cinspired by the condition \u2018Spasmodic Dysphonia.\u2019\u201d However, in this same interview, she states that the voice is intended to be \u201cinspired by\u201d the condition and not an \u201cexact replica.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Following this interview, Lupita has received an overwhelming amount of <\/span>pushback<\/span><\/a> from white disabled people and organizations\u2014most notably, RespectAbility, who reportedly released a now-updated <\/span>statement<\/span><\/a> addressing their concern with the use of this particular disability for the film. In that statement, Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, the president of the disability advocacy nonprofit, had this to say: \u201cconnecting disabilities to characters who are evil further marginalizes people with disabilities who also have significant abilities and want to contribute to their communities just like anyone else.\u201d The issue with this, however, is that it is evident Mizrahi has either not watched the film or did not understand it. <\/span><\/p>\n

In <\/span>Us, <\/span><\/i>Red, who is the character in question, is revealed to actually be the protagonist. In her formative years, she wandered into a house of mirrors where she would eventually bump into her \u2018tether\u2019, the girl\/woman we know throughout the film as Adelaide. What is later revealed in the film is that the original Adelaide, known now as Red, was choked and knocked out by her tether, tied to a bed, and was raised by people who spoke a language unrecognizable to humans. Watching how hard she was choked, and the amount of trauma that was to follow, it is a more than safe assumption to say that her vocal chords had been damaged. While Spasmodic Dysphonia is not necessarily caused by trauma\u2014and is a condition that is neurological\u2014doctors and scientists have also <\/span>linked its development<\/span><\/a> to \u201cinjury to the voice box.\u201d With all these things combined, it is reasonable to suggest that the voice Lupita chose to use for Red was not only one that is brilliant, but is also one that is true to the reality of the character.<\/span><\/p>\n

RespectAbility is an organization that has been under scrutiny several times before for its anti-Blackness and racism, and it is reported that Mizrahi is a Zionist. The Harriet Tubman Collective, a collective founded and operated by Black Deaf and otherwise Disabled people, detailed in a <\/span>report<\/span><\/a> the extent to which RespectAbility and Mizrahi has gone to erase and\/or steal the work of Black Disabled writers and thought-leaders. People who have been organizing, in some capacity, before Mizrahi decided to <\/span>shift her focus<\/span><\/a> from her pro-Israel writing and advocacy to disabilities advocacy.<\/span><\/p>\n

The National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association (<\/span>NSDA<\/span><\/a>) also released a <\/span>statement<\/span><\/a>, which is quoted in the piece by RespectAbility, in which they state that what is \u201cdifficult for us, and for the thousands of people living with spasmodic dysphonia, is this association to their voice with what might be considered haunting, wilted or a result of emotional trauma especially since spasmodic dysphonia is a neurological disorder.\u201d While others may have responded to her voice by calling it \u2018haunting\u2019 or \u2018wilted\u2019, which is what the NSDA <\/span>claims<\/span><\/a> to have been responding to, what Lupita was intending to portray was a woman who had not only been emotionally traumatized, but physically as well. To reduce what Red experienced in the film solely to \u201cemotional trauma,\u201d even after watching the very physical violence she experienced all throughout the film, is not only dishonest, it is also harmful and negligent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most interesting about all of this, however, is that RespectAbility never released a statement or commented on Heath Ledger\u2019s 2008 performance in The Dark Knight as The Joker. In fact, the only mention of The Joker from RespectAbility comes from this statement they released on Lupita where they make the claim that the issue with The Joker is \u201chow the person looks.\u201d His look, though, is not the biggest issue with this character. In <\/span>his own words<\/span><\/a>, Ledger told interviewers that he was \u201ca psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy.\u201d Yet, his approach to his role has been met with nothing but praise. Where Lupita is said to have been \u201cconnecting disabilities to characters who are evil,\u201d journalists wrote for Ledger that \u201cIf Batman were the \u2018light,\u2019 Ledger\u2019s Joker refused to counterbalance it by simply only playing the \u201cdarkness.\u2019\u201d And that \u201cthe late Australian actor didn\u2019t just hit one note \u2013 his Joker had the full range of 88 keys.\u201d Where Lupita is scrutinized for her work, Heath Ledger is <\/span>named<\/span><\/a> \u201cone of the best\u201d and \u201cmost iconic\u201d method actors of Hollywood.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps it is Ledger\u2019s death being so close to the release of The Dark Knight that make others venerate him and his role as The Joker the way that they do. Maybe it is the long connection comic book readers and superhero film watchers have to The Joker that draw them to Ledger\u2019s take on The Joker. Or maybe it is what I believe is obvious: cisgender white men are never met with the intense and outright harmful vigor that Black people\u2014especially Black women\u2014are for what would otherwise be known, too, as \u201ciconic\u201d roles. The implicit misogynoir in hailing a white man as \u201cone of the greatest\u201d method actors while vilifying a Black woman for employing the same level of acting is transparent. The unwillingness to see Black art as something capable of going beyond the \u201cgood versus evil\u201d dichotomy so often forced into Hollywood horror films while writers note that Ledger\u2019s role as The Joker hit \u201call 88 keys\u201d is very blatant anti-Blackness.<\/span><\/p>\n

To be clear, there is a necessary conversation to be had about the way that horror, as a genre, is built off of anti-Black, ableist, and even often anti-fat caricatures. Laura Elliott does part of that work in her <\/span>piece<\/span><\/a> \u201cWhat’s So Scary About Disability?\u201d The horror genre has a long history of making many villainous characters disabled, which only further stigmatizes disabilities and those of us who are disabled. That is always a valid and necessary critique, and it is also not the critique being made here.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the statement released by the NSDA, the executive director, Kim Kuman, says that Spasmodic Dysphonia \u201cis not a creepy voice; it\u2019s not a scary voice. It\u2019s a disability that people are living with and shouldn\u2019t be judged upon.\u201d However, since the genesis of the <\/span>Us<\/span><\/i> promotion tour, Lupita has been clear that she is not only drawing from several different inspirations, including her \u201cown experience with vocal injuries,\u201d but that she is also not intending to portray a \u201ccreepy\u201d voice as much as she is one that has been damaged and birthed from trauma. Most recently, she has discussed this in an <\/span>interview<\/span><\/a> on The View where she says that \u201cthe voice of Red is a composite of inspirations\u201d and is \u201cdefinitely a creation of my imagination.\u201d The most careful and responsible critique, then, would be one that explores how the world responds to voices and bodies that are unlike their own. As a fat disabled person, this is something I focus most of my writing on. A principled critique, in many cases, is not one that attacks or undermines the intelligence of an individual\u2014as RespectAbility and NSDA did by assuming Lupita did not understand what Spasmodic Dysphonia was\u2014but rather makes note of a culture that responds to the manifestation of trauma or differentness with fear and uneasiness.<\/span><\/p>\n

Disabled people have every right to critique ableism whenever we recognize it. We have a right to be cautious of how our bodies and experiences are portrayed by people who do not live with those same bodies or experiences. So this is not critique of my fellow disabled folks. However, it is a call to always consider the source of the critique. A critique made by an anti-Black Zionist and other white disabled people of a film with a lead cast that is fully Black must be thought over carefully. As previously stated, RespectAbility has been under scrutiny for their anti-Blackness several times before, and white people\u2014even those with marginalized identities\u2014so often are unable to separate their critique from their whiteness. I am pleased with Lupita\u2019s swift and heartfelt response to concerns about the role that Spasmodic Dysphonia played in inspiring her voice for Red. It is refreshing to see a celebrity respond with so much care to efforts made in an attempt to hold them accountable. Still, I question the very source, or rather the origins, of these concerns and I caution others to do the same.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* Footntote: for additional context on antiblackness & Zionism, see\u00a0this Twitter thread by\u00a0@coffeespoonie<\/a> from April 2, 2019.<\/p>\n

About<\/b><\/h3>\n
\"Da'Shaun
Da’Shaun is standing in a room with his head turned to the left glaring at something off camera. His hair is hanging down, he has on red and black glasses, and his mouth is opened slightly\u2014a partial grin, of sorts<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Da’Shaun Harrison<\/strong> is a nonbinary abolitionist and organizer in Atlanta, GA. He writes and speaks publicly on race, sexuality, gender, class, religion, disabilities, fatness, and the intersection at which they all meet. His portfolio and other work can be found on his site: <\/span>dashaunharrison.com<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Twitter: <\/span>@_iAmRoyal<\/a><\/p>\n

Instagram: @dagodlyshaun<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Facebook: @dagodlyshaun<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Patreon: @DashaunLHarrison<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Support Disability Media and Culture<\/b><\/p>\n

DONATE<\/b><\/a> to the Disability Visibility Project\u00ae<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Anti-Blackness in Critiques of Lupita Nyong\u2019o in Us   Da\u2019Shaun Harrison   ***THIS ARTICLE DOES INCLUDE SPOILERS***   Jordan Peele\u2019s sophomore film, Us, debuted just days ago, March 22, … Continue Reading The Anti-Blackness in Critiques of Lupita Nyong\u2019o in Us<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":437294,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6701202],"tags":[159346,587152670,587152671,257332,587152672,197068,58990044,384,587152675,587152678,587152677,587152676,2437,11798,13443,587152673,34714,587152674],"class_list":["post-437299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guest-blog-posts","tag-ableism","tag-antiblackness","tag-black-characters","tag-black-culture","tag-black-films","tag-black-women","tag-disability-representation","tag-entertainment","tag-horror","tag-jordan-peele","tag-lupita-nyongo","tag-misogynoir","tag-popular-culture","tag-race","tag-racism","tag-spasmodic-dysphonia","tag-trauma","tag-villians","post-has-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/IMG_7246.jpeg?fit=6000%2C4000&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4H7t1-1PLd","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/437294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}