Aaliyah Lifetime Biopic to Premiere in November
Aaliyah is coming to Lifetime this fall. The network has announced a premiere date for its controversial biopic based on the life of the late singer.
Aaliyah: Princess of R&B will air on Saturday, November 15, Lifetime announced today.
She was the princess of R&B and now her story is being told. #AaliyahMovie premieres Saturday, November 15. pic.twitter.com/uLOw8BMHlz
— Lifetime (@lifetimetv) September 18, 2014
The made-for-TV movie has been marred by controversy since it was announced in June. Zendaya Coleman was originally set to play Aaliyah, but dropped out after production issues including problems obtaining the rights to Aaliyah’s music.
Nickelodeon actress Alexandra Shipp later signed on, with Wendy Williams serving as executive producer.
“You can count on us to get this movie right,” said Williams. “I want to know the things you wanna know. What happened with R. Kelly, what was going on with Dame Dash, what was Aaliyah’s personal life really like?”
Aaliyah’s family has publicly condemned the film and vowed to take action to stop production.
The script is based off Christopher Farley’s best-selling biography Aaliyah: More Than a Woman.
Alexandra Shipp will play Aaliyah in the Lifetime movie.