The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021) is a biopic on Hulu about the life and death of Billie Holiday (Andra Day), a pioneering blues singer of the Jim Crow era whose repeated performances of the anti-lynching anthem, “Strange Fruit,” caused such unrest with the brass at the Federal Department of Narcotics (or FDN) that they put together a lifelong campaign to try to discredit her and derail her career — and she kept performing it in spite of the threats. It was directed by Lee Daniels from a screenplay by Suzan-Lori Parks.
The main bi person of interest in the film is Holiday, who is usually seen here either in glamorous stage dresses with white gardenias in her hair or common house dresses as she travels between gigs.
Regarding her bisexuality, there are multiple scenes of Holiday flirting, fighting with, and having sex with her abusive husband, Jimmy Monroe (Erik LaRay Harvey). There are also multiple scenes and a major storyline following her attraction to and betrayal by the fictionalized character, Jimmy Fletcher (Trevante Nemour Rhodes), serving as an audience surrogate who is a plant from the FDN. This storyline also includes lovemaking scenes, which can border on traumatizing for the torch singer.
There is also some highlight on Holiday’s on-again, off-again relationship with #Bi2 Tallulah Bankhead (Natasha Lyonne). Each of them is questioned about the nature of their relationship with each other — once by a tabloid journalist, Reginald (the late Leslie Jordan), and federal agent Henry Anslinger (Garrett Hedlund).
In the film, there are two key scenes hinting at the sexual relationship between the two women. In one scene, they are arm in arm, prevented from going up to Bankhead’s hotel room because Holiday, as a woman of color, is not allowed to use the main elevator. In another scene, they walk Holiday’s dogs in Central Park, once again arm in arm, alluding to their past affair. Additionally, there appears to be a scene featured in the wide-release trailer set in a jewelry store, with Holiday and Bankhead on the verge of kissing. Still, it seems to have been removed from the final cut, which is regrettable.
In an article with Rolling Stone, Day noted with Holiday:
She symbolizes freedom. She symbolizes equality. She represents not just civil rights, not just the black community, but the LGBTQ community. She represents almost every marginalized group of people. She was the original "Fuck the police."
Director Daniels, who defines himself as sexually fluid, also had this to add to the conversation in an interview with The Advocate:
It's important to show Billie as a multidimensional human being. Her bisexuality was as important for me to depict as was her kicking off the civil rights movement with her song 'Strange Fruit.’ It was also important for me to show the multidimensional life of an artist. Of a singer. Of a black woman. Of a bisexual black woman. Of a black woman that was fighting the system to sing a song.
While the film all but shows us these two ladies’ affair, it puts an exorbitant amount of attention on Holiday’s relationships with men — even going so far as to suggest an affair with Fletcher, a man that did not even exist. To say the film is not even-handed regarding showing Holiday’s queerness is an understatement.
Unfortunately, United States also puts a significant focus on the negative aspects of Holiday’s personality rather than her positive traits and pioneering work. The film frequently delves into trauma, focusing on her drug addiction, extramarital affairs, and the abuse she endured from her husbands and traumatic past. Despite the film's intention to highlight her courageous perseverance in performing "Strange Fruit," even at the expense of her career, it often fails to do justice to other aspects of her life, including her bisexuality. While it's a rare narrative centered on a bi woman of color, it falls short as an example of bisexuality portrayal.