Zendaya Coleman Reveals Why She Declined the Aaliyah Biopic

When news first spread of the Aaliyah biopic everyone's biggest question was: who would be playing Aaliyah Dana Haughton? Zendaya Coleman was set to play the late songstress, but she eventually declined the offer. Now that time has passed, Coleman has finally decided to reveal why she turned the seemingly iconic part down.

According to Complex, the 19-year-old felt that the process and production felt rushed:

"I just didn't like the way things were going down. There were a lot of things that came to my attention that I didn't know about, about the family and production value. You just assume that things are taken care of when you step onto a project. But when you realize that things are just falling apart, you're like, 'This is not what I signed up for, this is not what I thought it was. This is not what I think is worthy of her movie.'"

Coleman also went on to say that no one working on the film had any ties to Aaliyah's family and that it was rather "inappropriate."

Nonetheless, the Lifetime biopic endured a lot of harsh criticism.

Singer/actress Teyana Taylor was also up for being casted as Aaliyah, but the news sparked major controversy. Many people close to Aaliayh such as Timbaland and Missy Elliot believed that only a truly special actress that not only has the talent but also has the look and spirit of the late singer should be given the opportunity to play the role. While most people did feel that Coleman would have been the best choice to play Aaliyah we have to say that we respect her decision not to do so.

https://t.co/D2t8HHEhVd @KeshiaChante @KatlynnSimone @KatGraham @kyliebunbury . V103ATL interview @Timbaland speaks abt a AaliyahBiopic

— Malcolm Jones Taylor (@malblugreen510) October 16, 2015

As talks of the biopic circulated, it was widely reported that the family was not behind the production of the film. They felt that Aaliyah's story deserved a bigger platform and deserved to be released as a huge motion picture.

Lifetime went on to make the film with newcomer Alexandra Shipp playing Aaliyah. Critics and fans again felt that the actress did a subpar job playing the late singer. Having said that, the movie surprisingly still managed to top viewership ratings despite the entire public backlash.

Do you guys think that Zendaya Coleman was right in turning down the role of Aaliyah? Or do you think she should have went ahead and played the role? Let us know down below.