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Artist News
Ne-Yo declines Martin Luther King film role over fat fears
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 25 July 2012
R&B star Ne-Yo has revealed that he passed on the chance to play Martin Luther King Jr in a new film, after movie execs asked that he gain weight for the role. Apparently, in Ne-Yo’s mind, looking svelte for his new LP campaign took precedence over the honour of portraying the great civil rights leader. Well, it’s understandable.
The singer, whose acting CV includes a part in big-screen action smash ‘Battle: Los Angeles’ (great preparation for playing King, surely), tells The Mirror: “I definitely want to do more acting but it’s got to make sense with the music. I recently had to turn down an amazing opportunity to be in a movie playing Martin Luther King”.
But wait, it gets better (worse): “They wanted to start shooting at the time my album ‘RED’ comes out and wanted me to gain 30 pounds, so I couldn’t do it. I’m kicking myself but acting can’t take the place of my music. Plus, I’ve been killing myself in the gym for months preparing for this album because I wanted a complete makeover”.