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Wendy Williams has also boarded the TV movie that was previously set to star Zendaya Coleman.
Lifetime is back in business with its Aaliyah biopic.
Nickelodeon actress Alexandra Shipp has been tapped to play the R&B singer, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. Wendy Williams, who has boarded the TV movie as an executive producer, first announced the news Friday on Twitter.
Shipp takes over for Disney Channel star Zendaya Coleman, who was cast in the lead role as the R&B singer but exited the project in June. The actress and singer was to record four of the songs that would’ve appeared in the movie.
“We are sad Zendaya will no longer portray Aaliyah. Production is currently on hold,” Lifetime wrote in a statement posted on its Twitter account on June 29.
The project, titled Aaliyah: Princess of R&B is set, to resume filming this summer with a fall premiere date planned. The script for the biopic was based on a book, Aaliyah: More Than a Woman, by Christopher Farley.
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SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter
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