Zendaya Coleman is defending herself from all the nasty rumors! The 17-year-old actress posted a series of videos over at Instagram last July 18 and addressed the speculations surrounding her much-talked about exit from the upcoming Aaliyah biopic.
If you remember, Coleman was cast as the late R&B singer earlier this year, but decided to back out from the role in June. During that time, allegations spread that she quit the film due to the fact that a lot of people were criticizing the casting decision.
But in her Instagram videos, Coleman says that it's far from the truth. "Let me just explain something," she says in the first part of the video series she uploaded. "The reason why I chose not to do the Aaliyah movie had nothing to do with the haters or people telling me that I couldn't do it, I wasn't talented enough, or I wasn't black enough. It had absolutely nothing to do with that."
"The main reasons were the 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," Coleman said in the second clip. "I tried my best to reach out to the family [Aaliyah's] on my own and I wrote a letter but I was unable to do so. Therefore, I felt not really morally okay with moving forward with the project."
But while the Shake It Up actress won't be playing the Try again singer, another young star will be taking over the reins. Nickelodeon star Alexandra Shipp will be playing the lead role in Lifetime's Aaliyah: Princess of R&B. Coleman also uploaded a final clip congratulating the actress.
"Congratulations to the new woman playing Aaliyah," Coleman said. "I only hope that she does not have to deal with half the hate that I had to deal with. 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."