Messy! That’s one word to describe Lifetime’s Aaliyah biopic, which has already garnered a petition from angry fans before filming even takes place. The casting was just announced earlier this week and there is already a serious backlash.
After receiving many negative tweets about being cast to portray rising star Aaliyah, 17-year-old star of Disney’s “Shake It Up” Zendaya Coleman retweeted Aaliyah’s official Twitter account, which came to Coleman’s defense in a way:
However ,we do ask that you are respectful to the artist playing the role, for they may not fully have or know the details about this role
— Aaliyah (@AaliyahHaughton) June 17, 2014
Go girl! Aaliyah’s family also claims that Lifetime hasn’t asked for their involvement.
And her family’s involvement #teamaaliyah
— Aaliyah (@AaliyahHaughton) June 17, 2014
Many Aaliyah fans are throwing shade because they feel Lifetime is not respecting her immediate family’s wishes by producing a biopic. The family is upset that no one from Lifetime contacted them about the potential profit, according to Aaliyah’s uncle and former manager Barry Hankerson. Also, her family feels that a movie about a star as big as Aaliyah should have a wider viewing audience, rather than TV. Hankerson says that the family has hired a legal team and will not allow any of Aaliyah’s music to be licensed to Lifetime for the film.
Lifetime hasn’t responded.