Will and Jada Smith's household was largely viewed as the ideal nuclear family, during the early 2010s. But as their two youngest children, Jaden and Willow, matured into their late teens they began pushing the boundaries of sexual identity, colorism, and genre-bending music. Today, Willow Smith is the full embodiment of that very notion. Her out-of-the-box approach to presenting original material to the public has helped her shake the squeaky clean image that her legendary father once had as a leading actor in Hollywood. But her latest venture may force her to rein in her creativity a tad bit.
When the 21-year-old released a teaser for her upcoming fantasy novel, Black Shield Maiden, it was immediately met with backlash because of its portrayal of Muslim women. Co-written by Jess Hendel, the upcoming novel is loosely based on the Muslim faith. But after reviewing the premise and imagery of the story's characters many of Willow Smith's fans are accusing her of portraying Muslims as wild heathens, prompting several of the musician's fans to clap back at her on Twitter.
“The representation of Amazigh people in Willow Smith and Jess Hendel’s forthcoming fantasy novel is unacceptable,” wrote one fan on Twitter.
Another fan tweeted, “Why do we get portrayed YET AGAIN as savages?”
Black Shield Maiden is due out this October. Willow Smith has yet to respond to the recent outpour of criticism regarding the upcoming novel by the Muslim community.
For more on this developing story, keep it locked.
Source: Arab News
