KeKe Palmer Wanted to Portray Aaliyah In Biopic
KeKe Palmer may have once championed for actress Zendaya Coleman to portray Aaliyah in a biopic, but now she is revealing that she was also interested in the role.
Aaliyah Haughton died over 12 years ago in a plane crash at the age of 22. While XXL.com reported that her former manager and uncle, Barry Hankerson, spoke about his niece being featured in VH1 bopic last year, Disney actress and singer Zendaya Coleman will portray the late singer on Lifetime networks.
However, Zendaya backed out of the role after Aaliyah's family refused to be involved and now Palmer, the 20-year-old actress and singer who stars in the "Just KeKe" talk show, is revealing that she previously wanted the role.
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"For a long time I felt as though I could do it. But then when I heard the movie was coming out and I didn't really think about going for the project because I just came off the TLC movie and I thought it was too much," Palmer told theybf.com. "And I'm not trying to play everybody and be in everyone's biopic I think that's a little bit much. But for years I thought 'oh that's the story I want to play' but like I said, as time goes on, other things come along and come into play and I ended up saying if it happens, it happens."
Still Palmer offered public support to her fellow entertainer Zendaya after news broke that she was cast for the role. Last year Palmer was cast to play Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas in a biopic about the group TLC.
Although Zendaya announced she will no longer participate in the movie, Palmer said she was still interested in seeing it.
"I'm really excited about Aaliyah just because I've been dying to see it for so long. But I do have a difference in opinions about it now that Zendaya is no longer in it," she admitted to theybf.com. "Also because the family is not involved, so that must mean they're probably not going to use the real music and all those other things that come into place."
While she did not have anybody in particular who she felt should play the role, Palmer admitted that it was not a great situation if the family was not going to be supportive.
"If the family is not involved, I feel like it's not going to be done right. So I have mixed feelings on that," Palmer told theybf.com. "The Aaliyah story itself is one that I've been dying to see for a long time. But if its not being done the right way, it kind of puts a damper on things."
Lifetime Networks is not happy that Zendaya stepped away from portraying the late singer Aaliyah in the biopic and now the project has been put on hold.
"We are sad Zendaya will no longer portray Aaliyah," a statement from the network reads. "Production is currently on hold."
