Aaliyah: Princess of R&B, the movie Zendaya Coleman turned down after facing backlash

We all know Zendaya Coleman holds some star power, and for all the right reasons. The 27-year-old actress has done some major work in movies and series, especially “Euphoria” and “Spider-Man.” But let’s rewind to 2014: back then, Zendaya decided to step away from an important project. Remember? It was none other than playing the iconic singer Aaliyah in the biopic “Aaliyah: Princess of R&B.”

Around 9 years ago, queen Zendaya joined the cast to bring the story of R&B hitmaker, Aaliyah. Tragically, the singer’s life was cut short in a plane crash in 2001, and a movie was made in honor of her legacy. But here’s when it gets juicy: when Zendaya was cast, she faced a ton of backlash, as some fans weren’t there for her playing the role.

Word on the streets (and the Internet) says that the reasons for this biopic drama are mainly skin tone. Yes, you read that right! According to rumors, some audiences didn’t see Zendaya in the shoes of Aaliyah, because of that. Other speculations are just straight-up rude, with some Internet trolls who said our girl wasn’t talented enough back then for the role.

“The reason why I chose not to do the Aaliyah movie had nothing to do with the haters or people telling me I couldn’t do it, I wasn’t talented enough or I wasn’t black enough. The main reasons were the production value wasn’t there. There were complications with the music rights.”

After this drama, Alexandra Shipp stepped into the spotlight and took the role, with Zendaya sending her all the support. So, looking back at this situation, would you say Zendaya made the right choice or do you think she could’ve channeled the princess of R&B?