The film centers on the U.S. government's obsession with Holiday’s performance of Strange Fruit , a powerful protest song against the lynching of Black Americans in the South.
The story of the 2021 biopic follows legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday as she is targeted by the Federal Department of Narcotics in a years-long effort to silence her. The Core Conflict: "Strange Fruit"
, chief of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, views the song as politically threatening and "un-American".
The narrative explores the "central emotional battles" Holiday faced throughout her career: The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021)