When Zendaya Coleman was chosen to play Aaliyah in the upcoming Lifetime biopic about the singer, it seemed like a big break for the teen star. Coleman rose to fame on the Disney Channel as one of the stars of Shake It Up.
Coleman recently announced on the Wendy Williams Show that she was leaving the biopic. Many people were upset to learn that Coleman had been chosen for the role to begin with and she received a lot of criticism when news that she had been cast got out.
Coleman said that the constant harassment and criticism were exhausting at times, but that wasn’t the reason she left the film.
According to Coleman, Aaliyah’s family had different plans for the biopic than the producers and the two sides couldn’t agree. Coleman felt that going against the family’s wish was not morally right and when she realized that neither side was going to give, she decided it was in her best interest and everyone else’s if she walked away.
“The reason why I chose not to do the Aaliyah movie had nothing to do with the haters or people telling me I couldn’t do it, I wasn’t talented enough or I wasn’t black enough. The production value wasn’t there,” the 17-year-old actress said.
“And I tried my best to reach out to the family on my own and I wrote a letter, but I was unable to do so. Therefore I felt not really morally okay with moving forward with the project,” she added.
Alexandra Shipp replaces Zendaya Coleman for lead role in #Aaliyah biopic. Picture courtesy: Eonline pic.twitter.com/shUHY4nkIi
— DRUM Magazine (@DrumMagazine) July 20, 2014
Coleman went on to wish the actress who was chosen to replace her, Alexandra Shipp, good luck on the show and said that she hopes the public is not as quick to criticize her as they were Coleman.
“I hope that she does not have to deal with half the haters that I had to deal with,” she said about Shipp.
What do you think of Zendaya Coleman’s decision to quit the biopic?
Image via Wikimedia Commons