As Aaliyah's family continues to fight production and a new lead has been found (Alexandra Shipp), Zendaya Coleman took to Instagram to voice why exactly she parted ways with the project. In three separate videos, she said:
"Let me just explain something. The reason why I chose not to do the Aaliyah movie had nothing to do with the haters or people telling me that I couldn't do it, I wasn't talented enough, or I wasn't black enough. It had absolutely nothing to do with that.
"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.
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.
"With all that being said, congratulations to the new woman playing Aaliyah; I only hope she does not have to deal with half the hate that I had to deal with. And remember that we are all human beings trying to do what we love to do. Let's practice motivation and love; not discrimination and hate. All right?"
I appreciate this. [Hollywood Life]
Shakira has hit 100 million likes on Facebook, becoming the most Liked person on the site because literally everyone (with a Facebook account) likes Shakira. Even Mark Zuckerburg took the time to congratulate her, saying it's an "amazing milestone for an amazing person."
"I am honored and humbled about reaching this milestone," Shakira, 37, said. "Social media and specifically Facebook has helped myself and other artists bridge the gap between the stage and the audience."
To express her gratitude, she posted her "Look Back" video, which kind of seems like a cop-out. Meh, whatever. Good for her. [People]
Postmodern day Hannah Höch, Miley Cyrus has created a surrealist work of multidimensional sculpture montage:
Remind me to never go to whatever summer camp she's attending. Also your activity for today is to decrypt whatever LSD-laced secrets lay hidden in the different colored letter beads. The purple ones spell out "Non." The white ones spell OLUNDOYYRA, which I have deciphered as "YOUR A LYON D," which I can only assume means she's gramatically incorrectly calling you a lion's penis, which probably the direct translation of the decoder phrase for the Codex Seraphinianus.
- Point: shirtless Zac Efron jumping off a cliff with Bear Grylls. [People]
- Counterpoint: wetsuit-beclothed Justin Bieber jumping off a cliff by himself. [TMZ]
- Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade are banning cameras and phones at their wedding. Also, people need to show up 30 minutes early to process through security. Fair. [TMZ]
- Jordana Brewster, of Fast & Furious fame, is auctioning off her Christian Louboutin shoes to end child hunger in America. [Just Jared]
- Mark sent this to me, but I don't know what it means. Halp pls? "Apollo Nida Slams Wife Phaedra Parks, "Doubts" Future of Relationship With Time in Jail" [US Magazine]
- Here are Mary Kate and Ashley Olsens's striking middle parts (with a low bun) putting the finishing touches on a lacy boho wedding dress they designed for a friend. Also, I truly and absolutely love the intensity on the faces of women dressing the bride in ALL wedding photos. There's something so captivating about the severity of a woman with safety pins in her mouth. [People]
- Lil Wayne and Christina Milian are not dating. [TMZ]
- Casey Kasem's body is still missing, and his kids are accusing his wife of removing the body from a Washington funeral home. Man, this sucks. [US Magazine]
- They're making a prequel to The Shining because Hollywood is actually a verb that means taking wonderful things and Frito pie pooping on it. [Variety]
Lead image via Getty.