(AllHipHop News) Jada Pinkett Smith’s criticism of the new Tupac Shakur biopic left actress Kat Graham stunned, because she thought “The Matrix Reloaded” cstar was fully supportive of the film.
“All Eyez on Me,” starring Demetrius Shipp, Jr. and Kat Graham as Tupac and Jada, was savaged by the hip-hop community when it was released on Friday (June 16) – what would have been the rapper’s 46th birthday – but it was comments Pinkett Smith made on social media that really upset the leading lady.
In a series of tweets, Jada wrote: “Forgive me… my relationship to Pac is too precious to me for the scenes in ‘All Eyez On Me’ to stand as truth”, while praising Demetrius and Kat for “bringing so much heart and spirit to your roles”.
She also picked apart some of the inaccuracies in the film, suggesting director Benny Boom went too far with artistic license.
Graham admits she was taken aback by Jada’s remarks because she reached out to her to make sure she played her accurately on the big screen.
“When I first got the role, I reached out to (her) a year and a half ago…,” she told Eonline.com. “The point of reaching out to her, as well as the other producers on the film, was to insure the integrity of the story and the character. I even spoke to her last week and she had nothing but support.”
“I have a lot of love for her,” she adds. “I hope people just see the movie and make the choice for themselves.”
The biopic has received mixed reviews, but producer L.T. Hutton has defended the film, insisting he never intended to recreate Jada and Tupac’s relationship on screen, but wanted to depict it in the way he thought the rapper would have wanted.