Barbershop: The Next Cut: Debate About Nude Selfies

The Women Of The New Barbershop Movie Had A Lot To Say About Nude Selfies

Kim Kardashian ignited a firestorm when she posted a nude selfie on Instagram earlier this month. Women couldn’t agree on whether the pic was an act of female empowerment or whether it encouraged objectification — and whether criticism from the likes of Bette Midler, Chloe-Grace Moretz and Pink was justified or consisted of slut shaming.

Seeing Kardashian nude is nothing new. Neither is the debate. We had this very discussion last summer on the set of Barbershop: The Next Cut, where the female members of the cast and crew considered the influence of Kim Kardashian and Amber Rose in an era where social media images speak the loudest.

RELATED: Ice Cube & Common Get Real On The Set Of Barbershop: The Next Cut

“I’m glad that they’re actually talking about it,” says rapper Eve, who revives her take-no-shit character Terri in the franchise’s latest installment. “There’s a lot of chicks with their ass out on Instagram. And that’s now the standard of beauty, what a woman should be like. Ultimately, do your thing. Everybody should do whatever they want to do. But that shouldn’t be the standard. What happened to men just liking good women?”

Eve joins Regina Hall — a newcomer to the franchise, and co-writer Tracy Oliver in her sentiments over today’s standards and their impact on a young generation of women.

“There is a virtual war going on,” says Oliver, referring to a “good girls vs. hoes” debate that she says is particularly heated within the African-American community. The 30-year-old, who wrote and starred in the popular web series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, has been trying to figure out her place in this discussion for some time.

“It used to be that when you went to college, it automatically meant you were going to make more money and get a job,” says Oliver. “We’re that generation where that stopped being true.”

Oliver isn’t comfortable being critical of the women who use their sexuality to rise to the top. She understands that a woman owning her sexuality can be empowering. But she’s weary about how that influences the young girls who are starved for role models.

“There’s really hypersexualized women that are making a lot of money and are really, really successful,” Oliver says. “If the endgame is to make a lot of money and be successful, then you look at that and say, ‘I’m going to do what they’re doing. I’m going to do a sex tape. I’m going to be a stripper. I’m going to get ass implants. I’m going to do whatever it takes to be that.’ And then there’s Michelle Obama. We never had that. We never had a black first lady.”

Oliver tackles the debate in the new Barbershop movie, where arguments flare between the men sharing a space with Regina Hall’s Angie – the owner of a hair salon. Ice Cube’s Calvin and Common’s Rashad talk about their appreciation of good girls but can’t help it when their eyes linger the other way.

Boardwalk Empire’s Margot Bingham is in the shop too, channeling the Michelle Obama-type with her character Bree. She’s joining Liz Dozier, the famed principal featured in Chicagoland. The actor playing Draya — the Kardashian side of the equation, won’t be a surprise to you.

“We wrote [Draya] with Nicki Minaj in mind,” says Oliver. “Even when we pitched it to the studio, we were like, ‘think Nicki Minaj when we’re talking about this character: Someone with a huge ass; really sexy; the vixen of the shop.’ We didn’t think she would actually do it.”

Minaj’s Draya flaunts her stuff and attracts attention from Common’s Rashad, whose girlfriend is Terri — played by Eve. While the two iconic female rappers got along great on set, pitting their personas against each other was a savvy casting move. Consider the contrast between Minaj’s “Anaconda” video and Eve’s “Satisfaction”.

Eve knows a little something about the music industry’s pressure to get you to drop a few layers of clothing for the camera, even if she managed to keep most of hers on.

“We’re visual people,” she says. “As time has gone on, it’s become ‘what’s her body look like?’ It’s not even about talent. I was lucky. If anything, Ruff Ryders was trying to cover me up.”

Eve jams regularly to Kendrick Lamar, whom she proudly waves a flag for. Otherwise, she’s vibing with indie pop duo Sylvan Esso. If she’s lost some love for hip-hop, it’s because a lot of it is “crap”. Substance has been flushed down the toilet while ratchet music is out there celebrating “b****es” and strip clubs. Hip-hop has always been a difficult listening experience for a young woman’s self-esteem. So perhaps it’s no coincidence that Kim Kardashian and Amber Rose circle that very industry.

“I always say that people only do what you allow them to do,” says Eve. “I think women need to change their actions for men to change their minds.”

Regina Hall agrees: “If we can begin to see the value in ourselves, then that already starts a shift energetically in what men have to be to meet us there.”

Hall points to the animal kingdom to draw examples of the power of women. Male whales flip their bellies and male peacocks flash their brightly colored feathers, all to get a female’s attention.

“Our men are like little peacocks,” says Hall. “I always think that women have a gigantic impact on the male ego; far more than they are realizing in this day and age.”

“Cleopatra knew it,” Hall continues. “She was like, ‘I will start a war!’”

Barbershop: The Next Cut opens in theatres on April 15th.