Haile Selassie
Public opinion and media depiction

During the beginning of his reign, and primarily in the 1930s through 1940s when Fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia, media coverage of Haile Selassie was positive, describing him as a hero against fascist forces. He was seen as an African beacon of hope and a friend and a part of the allies in World War II. He was even featured as a Time "Man of the Year" in 1935 amidst the invasion. British Pathé reported that Haile Selassie's return was "As an Emperor returns and triumphs to his people." During one of his rare interviews with Meet the Press, in a 1963 State visit during the period of the Civil Rights movement in the U.S., he rebuked the notation of skin or race-based oppression of peoples and pushed a Pan-African narrative. Later NBC News was seen ridiculing the state visit months later; The New York Times provided counterpoints saying, "what civilized purpose is served by making a point of the fact months later to the probable embarrassment of the Ethiopian diplomatic representatives in this country?". It also said NBC News "cannot afford to be a handmaiden of the State Department."

During the 1950s, when the Silver Jubilee of the Emperor's reign was celebrated, he adopted the 1955 Constitution which legally gave more democratic rights to the public, and legally restricted the monarch's power. After the end of World War II, Haile Selassie worked to limit the power of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. He was widely viewed as a modernising and capable leader in Ethiopia during the 1950s. Nonetheless, subsequently, in the 1970s, due to economic turmoil and a famine, Selassie's reputation suffered. Mass protests involving intellectuals and the common people occurred. It was widely believed that due to his old age and failed land reform policy implementation he should abdicate, which ultimately led to Selassie's removal from power.

Although Haile Selassie's image and legacy has differed views, he is notably thought of as a moderniser, as one of the leading persons founding Haile Selassie University, and the Organisation of African Unity which later turned into the Africa Union and an anti-colonial movement leader. He also has been listed by TIME Magazine among the most important figures in political history, even adding him in the "Top 25 Political Icons" of all time.

In 2001, Ethiopian popstar Teddy Afro released a song dedicated to Selassie titled by his name "Haile Selassie", depicting him in a more nationalistic light.

In 2021 a false headline had circulated of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip bowing down to Haile Selassie and his wife during the Queen's state visit to Ethiopia at Jubilee Palace. In 2021 a documentary by Selassie's granddaughter was released showcasing the life of the Ethiopian royal family. The documentary, titled Grandpa Was An Emperor, has a 100 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. In the 2024 biopic Bob Marley: One Love, Selassie is depicted in Rastafarian religious lore. There is a part where Selassie, whilst riding a horse, takes alongside him a young Marley.

Haile Selassie has been depicted by photographers, portraits and sculptors such as Edward Copnall, Beulah Woodard, Jacob Epstein, William H. Johnson, Yevonde Middleton and Alvin Gittins.
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