Zendaya Coleman Responds to Alexandra Shipp's Casting in Lifetime's Aaliyah Biopic

Zendaya Coleman has nothing but good words for Alexandra Zipp who replaces her as Aaliyah in Lifetime's biopic. In a series of clips posted on Instagram, Zendaya congratulated Alexandra for securing the role and asked fans not to create drama.

 "Congratulations to the new woman playing Aaliyah. I only hope that she does not have to deal with half the haters that I had to deal with. And remember that we are all human beings trying to do what we love to do. Let's practice motivation and love, not discrimination and hate. Alright."

While offering her support for Alexandra, Zendaya once again explained why she left the TV movie. "The reason I chose not to do the Aaliyah movie had nothing to do with the haters or people telling me I couldn't do it...[that] I wasn't talented enough or black enough," she insisted. "It had absolutely nothing to do with that."

She decided not to drop the project because "production value wasn't there, there were complications with the music rights, and I just felt like it wasn't being handled delicately considering the situation."

Aaliyah's family indeed disapproved of the TV movie. "I tried my best to reach out to the family on my own, and I wrote a letter, but I was unable to do so; therefore, I felt not really morally OK with moving forward with the project," Zendaya said.