Zendaya Coleman, 17, the star of Disney Channel's Shake It Up, will no longer be the star of Lifetime's Aaliyah biopic. The announcement was made by the network's PR team over Twitter feed on Sunday.
"We are sad Zendaya will no longer portray Aaliyah. Production is currently on hold." Zendaya's casting, breakout star on Dancing With the Stars, was announced last June 16.
A representative from Zendaya Coleman's camp confirmed the news made by Lifetime but did not give any reason. However, Coleman said in an interview during the BET Awards on Sunday that she felt uneasy about the production.
Debra Martin Chase, executive producer of the biopic, told Entertainment Weekly that Coleman was picked to portray in the biopic because she possess the Aaliyah's spirit. The casting received controversies from the fans saying that the biracial teen star is too light-skinned to play Aaliyah - who passed away at 22 in 2001 due to plane crash.
Chase responded with, "Honestly, I think it's ridiculous. What does that mean? What does it mean to be black enough?" She also said Zendaya is biracial but identifies herself as black.
"And she, like you, like all of us, encompasses all her cultural experiences and heritage. And most importantly, she physically resembles her," Chase added.
On the other hand, Zendaya made a choice to sing in the movie. Zendaya is a big Aaliyah fan and influenced her entire career.
"She's 100 percent committed to doing this right. She's fully in." Chase commented.