Zendaya Takes on ‘Haters,’ Backlash Over Lifetime’s Aaliyah Biopic (Video)

“The production value wasn’t there,” she explains on Instagram

Zendaya Instagram

Hey, “haters,” Zendaya has a message for you: the Disney star didn’t bail on the Aaliyah biopic because she isn’t “talented enough” or “black enough” — nor for any of the other reasons she’s apparently been reading on social media.

“The production value wasn’t there, there were complications with the music rights, and I just felt like it wasn’t being handled delicately considering the situation,” the 17-year-old explained.

Zendaya said she tried reaching out to the family personally but could not get in touch.

Also read: Zendaya on Exiting Lifetime’s Aaliyah Movie: It ‘Wasn’t All the Way There’

She continued, “Therefore, I felt not really morally OK moving forward with the project.”

In a separate post, Zendaya wished luck to the “new woman” (Alexandra Shipp, “House of Anubis”) playing the late singer: “I only hope that she doesn’t have to deal with half the heat that I had to deal with,” Zendaya concluded.

See photo: Alexandra Shipp Replaces Zendaya as Aaliyah in Lifetime Biopic

Wendy Williams is executive producing the Lifetime movie about the singer, who died in a plane crash in 2001 at age 22. The TV production has been mired in controversy with Aaliyah fans and her family expressing disapproval of the project. There was even a fan petition seeking to shut the production down.

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