It’s no secret that the legendary and talented soul singer, Nina Simone, was also a very troubled woman. Simone battled bipolar disorder, depression and alcoholism, but, it’s what her daughter, Lisa Simone, has to say about the singer that has many up in arms.
For the first time since her mother’s death in 2003, Lisa is discussing the strained relationship between mother and daughter.
She tells the Daily Mail UK, “My mother could be a monster. I was not a happy child when I was alone with her. My mum shot me down a lot, attacked me in public. It is easy to attack children, they are small and depend on you.”
Lisa recalled that when her mother wasn’t dragging her around the world while on tour, she was “blackmailed and beaten” whenever she was defiant.
She also says that she had 13 governesses by the age of seven, was working at ten and was her mother’s chauffeur by 12 but walked out at 14 after a beating.
Following the incident, Nina refused to support Lisa’s career in the U.S. Air Force or her entry into music. She then disinherited her from her will.
“I’d like to think if she had taken two seconds to think about her behavior she would have done things differently but I’m not sure.”
“My mother was angry with the world and often the only person around to blame was me.”
“When my parents were together my mother was more giving and open but with the divorce she turned into someone you didn’t want to know.”
Lisa was also in the news last year for voicing her opinion on the upcoming biopic about her mother’s life. She expressed her disapproval for actress Zoe Saldana being chosen to play the role. “The goal [of the biopic] seems to be to bleed me dry of everything my mother stood for, of everything she sacrificed,” she says. “She had many experiences in her life that left her feeling sad and angry…”
“Zoe Saldana portraying her is a bad joke because there are more gifted actresses who are more in keeping with my mother’s appearance. I know how my mother would feel about Zoe, so they are making a mockery of her experiences to construct their own truth.”
Lisa is also in the midst of a lawsuit where she’s been accused of stealing $2 million from her mother’s estate; which list’s Nina’s tax adviser, Mark Lenniman, as the beneficiary.
Of the lawsuit and difficulties she’s faced Lisa adds, “Ugly truths have come out and relationships have died because people treated me as a commodity.”
“Too many people had ulterior motives.”
You can read the full article at the Daily Mail UK.
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Mental illness is a b*ch