Sometimes the authorities fail to recognize that. It revolves around basic human rights, she remarks, “Have you ever witnessed a lynching?” However, she continues to perform it, labeling her as a “provocateur” and referencing her composition “Strange Fruit,” the radio reporter.
The verdict for the murder of Floyd George finally came after weeks of anticipation. Many people were left with mixed emotions after witnessing the horrific ordeal of the 46-year-old Floyd, who died last year in Minneapolis after white police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. A bystander recorded a video of the man crying out, “I can’t breathe,” while being handcuffed by the officer, which further highlighted the strangeness of this week.
On Tuesday, Chauvin was convicted of manslaughter and murder in the death of George Floyd, while news broke that Ma’Khia Bryant, a 16-year-old Black girl in Columbus, Ohio, was fatally shot by police officers who were also responding to an attempted stabbing.
At the same time, the verdict in the George Floyd case provided hope for conscientious individuals who are concerned about the ongoing issues of police brutality and systemic racism in the United States. However, it is evident that there is still a significant amount of work that needs to be done. The recent victims of police brutality, such as Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man who was fatally shot at close range by police officer Kimberly Potter during a traffic stop in April, highlight the urgent need for action. It is clear that these cases are just a few examples of the ongoing struggle that we must address.
While watching one scene of Daniels’ film, in which Andra Day sings as Billie Holiday and describes the “strange fruit” hanging from the poplar trees, swinging bodies of Black root at the Southern breeze, and blood and strange fruit on the leaves, you can’t help but feel compelled to rediscover its origins.
In Indiana, during the year 1930, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith were subjected to a lynching, with the photograph captured by Lawrence Beitler serving as the catalyst for the creation of the poem “Bitter Fruit” by Abel Meeropol, a Jewish educator and advocate for civil rights. Originally conceived as a poem, it was subsequently transformed into a song by Holiday on the 20th of April in 1939, highlighting the atrocities associated with lynching.
Suddenly, a round of applause erupted, followed by the hesitant clapping of a solitary individual. Not a single trace of applause could be heard when I concluded. Initially, I believed singing it was an error. In her autobiography ‘Lady Sings The Blues,’ Holiday recalls her inaugural performance of the song at Café Society in New York.
Despite Columbia Records blacklisting it, she declined to record the song. However, its powerful impact stirred various emotions, leaving people in tears. By addressing the disturbing issues of racism and lynching head-on, Billie Holiday compelled the audience with her intense rendition of the song, consistently evoking deep emotions whenever she performed it thereafter.
Billie Holiday faced repercussions for persisting with her singing, however, the origins of “Strange Fruit” in Daniels’ film (featuring a screenplay by Suzan-Lori Parks, the inaugural African American woman to receive a Pulitzer Prize for Drama) are not disclosed; instead, they are visually presented.
Singing “Strange Fruit,” the controversial song, Holiday defiantly continued, despite the possibility of inciting a black rebellion. She was perceived as both a troublemaker and a danger. The war against Holiday, orchestrated by agent Harry J. Anslinger (Garrett Hedlund), was disguised as a war on drugs by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. Eventually, Holiday, who was known to use heroin, was framed by undercover Black agent Jimmy Fletcher (Trevante Rhodes). Anslinger had employed Fletcher to infiltrate jazz clubs.
In 1947, Holiday was arrested for narcotics possession and subsequently sentenced to the Alderson Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia. However, upon her release, her cabaret card, which was mandatory for all nightclub performers in New York City, was not returned to her.
It is a powerful and painful moment, with contrasting and blood-evoking red cherry lips and anguished and haunting eyes, captured on camera with a lingering focus on her left ear. Andra Day’s voice, singing “Strange Fruit” with a deep mournful tone, adds to the intensity of these powerful moments. The film, incorrectly historically, portrays a romance while also highlighting the abuses of life. It suggests that Holiday fell in love with Fletcher, who regretted framing her and tried to rescue her.
Paolo Nieddu, in collaboration with Prada, designed the costumes for “Billie Vs The United States,” taking inspiration from vintage photographs for the collages he created in the costumes. He combined them together and also selected details and elements from Prada’s archives. Nieddu found great correspondences between Prada’s interpretations and original clothes, particularly loving the silhouettes from the ’50s and ’40s.
As she performs “All of Me,” we are introduced to Holiday wearing a vibrant and eye-catching red dress. The design of the gown is influenced by a lapel-halter style dress she wore on stage at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester in 1954, combined with elements from a Prada outfit from their A/W 2004 collection. The molded bodice and bust of the gown are reminiscent of the Prada look, while the color of the gown is inspired by a dress from the Spring/Summer 2009 collection.
Adorned with flower stitching, the gown underwent a transformation into a black taffeta material with the bustline being redesigned based on Prada’s car-themed line from Spring/Summer 2012. However, in this instance, the black and white dress was a reimagined rendition of a gown worn by Holiday in 1947 at the Downbeat Club, featuring the same color scheme and a large bow.
Andra appeared in court wearing a vintage suit based on Loro Piana’s silk crepe and wool cashmere, but she opted for a separate skirt and jacket. She then wears a replica of the pinstriped skirt suit for the Holiday Day.
Wearing an elegant black silk dress with striking shoulder details, Holiday performs in front of a completely packed audience at Carnegie Hall following her incarceration period.
John Hayles, the Orry-Kelly couturier (who also created outfits for Marilyn Monroe), worked together with a renowned dressmaker from Old Hollywood to craft the elegant gown featured in the movie.
Instead, at her illicit residency at Ebony Club, we see Billie Day/Billie Andra in a classic marigold yellow gown with precious crystal work, inspired by a 1946 shoulder look from Prada’s 2017 A/W collection. The designer costume by Hooper Maria has been reinterpreted here, incorporating crystal patterns from the Resort house’s 2011 collection.
Andra Day/Billie also wore a red flutter-sleeve crop top (inspired by a vintage 1930s style) and coordinating wide leg pants for their performance in Baltimore.
In contrast to this distressing scene, the vibrant hues of her cheerful attire stand out, as she stands before a backdrop of a lynching. While she continues along her path, she comes across a rustic house. Taking a momentary pause, we observe her strolling through tall grass, adorned with intricate floral embroideries that dangle like lengthy fringes. Clad in a vibrant, summery gown, Andra Day/Billie journeys with her musical ensemble.
The strapless white gown features crystal embroidery on the bodice, while she sings the song again, which ultimately inspires her to challenge the authorities. The powerful moment recalls the vivid representation of the symbolism in “Strange Fruit,” although Holiday herself never actually witnessed a lynching.
The dress from 2014 (shown in the last picture in this article) has geometric embroidery and intricate crystal detailing. Nieddu’s rendition includes the low-cut neckline inspired by a Prada Spring/Summer design. The design draws inspiration from Holiday’s attire during her final prominent jazz performance at Town Hall in 1958 (See this image).
Wears while on tour. There were a few costume-related challenges. The scene credits show Andra Day and Trevante Rhodes waltzing, with Day reprimanding him for stepping on her “Prada dress”. This dress seemed to serve as pure advertising and may have been edited out. Additionally, it is possible that Prada’s triangular logo was taken off the pants worn by Billie Holiday during her performances, as this type of product placement was deemed unnecessary.
The costumes in the film serve a specific purpose, reminding us of the talent of Holiday and her iconic presence, while she hid the traumas and pains of her abusive and violent upbringing behind a glamorous exterior of diamante sunglasses and fur gowns. She looked astonishing as well.
While belting out her revolutionary tune, she relied on her majestic dresses for both defense and to exude a sense of power: her ensembles and embellishments (Nieddu adorned all the outfits with retro discoveries, including purses, charm bracelets, and cat-eye sunglasses) acted as her shield.
She wonders how a Black woman can dare to look glamorous in a time when her husband remains silent inside, probably disdainfully. She states that she is mesmerized when Billie Holiday sings at Carnegie Hall in the film “Lady Sings the Blues,” and wonders what exactly this represents for white mainstream society. At the same time, she looks at the political statements and resistance as her weapons.
Billie Holiday, who was 44 years old when she died in 1959, was arrested and handcuffed in a hospital bed by agents claiming to have found heroin on her. Some people believed that justice was not served and that it may have been done to satisfy Anslinger, like dying lay she.
The civil rights movement adopted the song “Strange Fruit” as one of its protest anthems, solidifying its enduring legacy in the 20th Century.
The film was released on the precise day that the Emmett Till (Till, a 14-year-old who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955) anti-lynching act was passed by the US House of Representatives on February 26, 2021. In 1999, Time Magazine declared it the song of the century, and it was included in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1978. Numerous artists have covered the song, including Andra Day, who recorded her own rendition of “Strange Fruit” in 2017 in collaboration with the not-for-profit organization Equal Justice Initiative.
There is no evidence that Billie Holiday had a love affair or hung around with him, but Linda Kuehl, Holiday’s biographer, regrets the betrayal between Jimmy Fletcher, the singer, and Holiday’s agent, Jimmy Daniels, mainly because their romance is unlikely and their work doesn’t always go smoothly in Lee Daniels’ movie.
However, it is important to note that the song “Strange Fruit” holds powerful lyrics that Andra Day’s biopic, “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” refuses to stop singing. Additionally, it serves as a reminder that the film includes both factual and fictional elements, making it the first of its kind.