Sanaa Lathan doesn't deal with 'Emotional n****s' in questionable new single

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The day after her thriller, The Perfect Guy, was released in theaters — and subsquently ended up topping the box office — Sanaa Lathan released a song inspired by the movie called Emotional.

While tying the release of a new single to a movie premiere is a publicity tactic that has previously worked for the likes of Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez, some of Lathan’s fans were surprised by the content of her debut.

The song, which features Dej Loaf, is dedicated to “emotional” men like Carter (played by Michael Ealy), who ends up stalking her in film.

“I don’t really deal with emotional n—-s,” the actress sings. “Damn, why you call so early? / Always tryna check up on me / Silent on, and still message to me / If you keep it up, you’ll never know me.”

Later in the song, Dej Loaf raps that she too “can’t let emotions show,” since she’s “tryna build my bread.”

Some have noted that in the wake of Black Lives Matter, and given how black men are constantly vilified in the media, it’s disappointing that these lyrics seems to shame men for having feelings.

While the movie is about a stalker, the song itself puts down men for being emotionally available — in general. A stance that is not only problematic but also proven to be detrimental in several studies.

“We know that traditional role expectations are that men will restrict their emotions — or ‘take stress like a man,’” says one study author, Wizdom Powell Hammond, PhD, assistant professor of health behavior in UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. “However, the more tightly some men cling to these traditional role norms, the more likely they are to be depressed. It chips away at people’s sense of humanity and very likely at their hope and optimism.”

Despite the social ramifications of it’s message, Nathan says her song is being sung by her character Leah’s “alter ego” who goes by the name of Brown Sugar; an obvious nod to the 2001 movie she starred in with Taye Diggs.

She has also thanked her reported beau French Montana for encouraging her to take a leap into music, which is ironic, given how emotional French often appeared while dating Khloe Kardashian on Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

“Life can be amazing when you step outside your comfort zone sometimes and say yes,” she writes on Instagram. “Shout out to @detailgo & @frenchmontana for the encouragement.”

Check out the full track below.