Family of the late singer Aaliyah are strongly against the Lifetime biopic starring Zendaya and have vowed to stop it from being made.
The biopic, set to start filming this summer, will follow the life of the young singer who died tragically in a plane crash in the Bahamas at just 22-years-old. According to TMZ however, the family is extremely upset that they were not contacted about the movie and have vowed to do everything they can to stop production of the biopic.
Aaliyah’s uncle and former manager, Barry Hankerson, told TMZ that they will block any attempts to use the singer’s music in the film and that the family has hired a lawyer in attempt to block the release of the film.
The family does not oppose a film to be made about Aaliyah, however, they said they think a TV movie is too small for someone of her stature.
According to the Daily Mail, Zendaya took to twitter to express her gratitude prior to Aaliyah’s family speaking out against the biopic. The former Dancing with the Stars runner up called her an inspiration and hopes to make her proud in heaven.
Show how much she accomplished in only 22 years....she's beautiful inside and there will never be another Aaliyah, I just hope to share her
— Zendaya (@Zendaya) June 16, 2014
beautiful story, and make her proud up in heaven #babygirl #forever #OneInAMillion
— Zendaya (@Zendaya) June 16, 2014
Image via Twitter from Zendaya Coleman
The film is set to be released in the fall. No word has been released by Lifetime as of yet.