'Aaliyah' Actress Calls for Prayer Amid Backlash for Taking Role?
Alexandra Ship, the actress newly selected to portray Aaliyah in an upcoming Lifetime networks biopic, is praying to God amid serious backlash she is receiving for taking the role.
While Aaliyah's family has publicly spoken out against the small screen film, Zendaya Coleman backed out of starring in the film because of it. Now, it seems Shipp,23, is taking on more than just the role of Aaliyah, but the anger of fans of the late singer who believe they are not honoring her memory.
Shipp took to Twitter to ask God for help in the situation.
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"God, blind me to negativity," she tweeted. "Give me strength to overcome the obstacles ahead and do what you put me on this planet to do: illuminate."
While Shipp received threatening replies to her prayer, 17-year-old Zendaya is no stranger to the treatment when she previously agreed to portray Aaliyah before backing out of the role. After Zendaya backed out of portraying Aaliyah last month, she took to Instagram in a video clip that explained her reason for doing so.
"The reason why I chose not to do the Aaliyah movie had nothing to do with the haters ... the main reason is that 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," Zendaya said on Instagram. "And 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."
She is not the only actress who felt uncomfortable with taking on the role. Keshia Chante, the Canadian singer-turned-host of BET's 106th & Park, took to her Instagram account to reveal why she ultimately stepped away from the project.
"After learning more about the situation & how the Haughton family truly felt, I just didn't feel like it was right," Keshia, 25, wrote on Instagram. "But at the end of the day, this is just one, of what will be many movies on Babygirl's life. So maybe one day, if it's the right circumstance, timing & I get the blessing, I'll choose to be a part of something."
Shipp, 23, is an actress and singer who starred in Nickelodeon's show "House of Anubis" along with other programs such as "Victorious," "Switched At Birth" and "Awkward." While she is gearing up to star in Nick Cannon's "Drumline 2: A New Beat," talk show host Wendy Williams recently announced that she will executive produce an Aaliyah biopic where Shipp was recently cast as the star.
