Zendaya Coleman As Aaliyah: 'DWTS' Star Pulls Out Of Lifetime TV Movie
Zendaya Coleman has pulled out of her upcoming role as Aaliyah.
After the role was announced, Aaliyah's family contacted TMZ, promising to ban Lifetime from using any of Aaliyah's music in the production and revealing plans to try to stop the biopic all together. Now, Lifetime has lost their lead star.
On Sunday, June 29, a rep for Coleman confirmed to E! News, "Zendaya is no longer involved in the project."
According to E!, Lifetime's project had been tentatively titled, Aaliyah: Princess of R&B and was to be based off Christopher Farley's biography Aaliyah: More Than a Woman. During the television movie, fans would get to see Aaliyah's journey through fame, from her debut on Star Search to her tragic death, and all the important moments in between. The project was scheduled to start filming this summer and would air on Lifetime this fall.
At last night's BET Awards, Coleman addressed her exit from the movie.
“I didn't feel like [production] was all the way there, so I didn't want to do that,” Coleman said on the red carpet at the BET Awards, according to a June 30 report by TIME. “When the time comes when it’s done right and it’s 100 percent, by all means, I will be the first person there ready to go.”
Following the news of Coleman's exit, Lifetime TV's PR posted a message on Twitter. It read, "We are sad Zendaya will no longer portray Aaliyah. Production is currently on hold."