Thandie Newton regrets misportrayal of African Americans

Thandie Newton has expressed remorse over some of the roles she took on earlier in her career because of the way they misrepresented African-Americans.

The 47-year-old gave an emotional interview to New York magazine's Vulture, in which she opened up about her roles in movies such as 1995's Jefferson in Paris, Beloved, and Oscar-winning movie Crash.

In Jefferson in Paris, Newton depicted slave Sally Hemings, the 'lover' of the then Ambassador of the United States to France before his presidency. When asked how she saw the film in retrospect, the Westworld star candidly stated she now found it problematic.

"I would definitely approach that film in a completely different way now. I would push for the film to be more about Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson," she confessed.

In 1998, a DNA test published in the scientific journal Nature found strong evidence that Thomas Jefferson fathered at least one child with Hemings.

Newton said she now views the character with a different lens: "I mean, she was his slave. It was rape."

In her defence, Newton added, it was "my first big film", and she welcomed criticism from: "any number of African-Americans."

Confronting her embarrassment for playing parts she now regrets, Newton admitted she caved to pressure from the industry: "It's had me misrepresent African-Americans. Because I didn't know."

Suggesting she has "not been of great service" in her career, the actress apologised as she broke down in tears.
"I guess it's been of service in one respect, because there's a person of colour in a movie, but that can do more harm than good - let's face it," she said, "Anyway, sorry. God, wow. I've never cried in an interview before."