Willow Smith faced backlash earlier this week about content in her new fantasy novel entitled Black Shield Maiden.
The story is reportedly about an African warrior who was kidnapped from her native land and forced into a community of Vikings. In the excerpt, Smith and Hendel's description of the Amazigh people did not go over well with many readers.
The excerpt states: “The Amazigh are dangerous on their best day. They have little regard for anyone who doesn’t worship the Muslim god — and even their own tribes are always at war with one another.”
People on social media had a lot to say. One Twitter user wrote, "Why the f*ck does Willow Smith hate my people? Like this weird and specific and not ok, and I hate that this bigoted fictional character is gonna be the first introduction to Amazigh culture alot of American audiences will experience."
Another person wrote, "I'd just like to know why Willow Smith is depending on such racist and Islamphobic stereotypes for her new book. It's 2022. We are not playing into this bs. still We know better so we should be doing better.
