Zendaya Insists She’s “Black Enough” For The Role of Aaliyah in Lifetime Movie

Zendaya Coleman  is to star and perform as Aaliyah in the Lifetime Original Movie but not everyone is happy about that. I got to know Zendaya as a very talented young lady during the last season of Dancing With the Stars, and I feel she could do the job.

however, many have criticized the producers of the movie for casting Zendaya beacuse they feel she appears too mixed-race to play Aaliyah, others say she is too light-skinned, period. Zendaya has gone on Twitter to respond to such criticisms of the movie which is based on the book, Aaliyah: More Than a Woman.

The 17-year-old Disney actress has also answered in more detail in a video obtained by TMZ. She said, while bringing her father into the camera;

“A lot of people say I’m not Black enough. Half Black is just enough. It doesn’t matter what color you are, it’s about how you portray the character. For those that don’t know, Angela Bassett and Tina Turner, they look nothing alike but she was that character so I think that’s what it’s all about.”

The Angela Basset and Tina Turner reference is to the movie, What’s Love Got to Do with It where dark skinned Angela Basset played mixed race and lighter skinned Tina Turner.

Her father, Kazembe Ajamu further jokes in the video,

“They’re shooting this in the summer. So Zendaya will spending lots of time in the sun. And she’ll get dark enough.”

Unfortunately, although she is right, we may never get to see the movie. More commentators have jumped on her fathers joke as being racially insensitive. Also, Aaliyah’s family have proceeded with legal action to block the Lifetime network from creating and releasing the film.
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Check out Zendaya’s LAX interview in the video on TMZ