LOS ANGELES — If there was any doubt about how Nina Simone’s family and fans feel about the upcoming biopic starring Zoe Saldana, recent social media posts make it clear they are not pleased.

A fresh round of criticism for the film erupted after the trailer and poster for “Nina” were unveiled Wednesday.

Singer and activist Nina Simone, photographed in London in 1968. Simone will be played by lighter-skinned Zoe Saldana. The Associated Press

Saldana posted a quote from the singer and civil rights activist on Twitter, and Simone’s estate responded with: “Cool story but please take Nina’s name out your mouth. For the rest of your life.”

Simone’s daughter and others have decried the choice to cast a lighter-skinned actress as the black activist since Saldana took the part in 2012. Her skin was apparently darkened for the role, and she wears a prosthetic nose. At the time, Simone’s daughter, Simone Kelly, said: “Appearance-wise this is not the best choice.”

“My mother was raised at a time when she was told her nose was too wide, her skin was too dark,” Kelly told the New York Times in a 2012 interview.

Simone’s dark complexion and traditionally African features were central to her identity and concept of black beauty, so casting someone with Saldana’s more European appearance is galling, said Miriam J. Petty, an assistant professor in the radio-television-film department at Northwestern University.

“It’s disrespectful and demonstrates the depth of the ignorance of the person making the film of the very subject of the film,” she said.

Representatives for Saldana and the Simone estate did not respond to requests for comment. RLJ Entertainment will release “Nina” in theaters, digital HD and video on demand on April 22.

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