The December/January issue of Complex magazine highlights the tastemakers are poised to make a splash in 2016, and Zendaya is the cover girl; that says a lot, and she’s divulging in a lot of info!
Zendaya has been outspoken when it comes to image of black women in the media (wearing faux locs to the Oscar), her biracial roots, and her strong stance about skipping out on playing Aaliyah in the 2014 Lifetime biopic.
About dropping out of the production, Zendaya said she didn’t feel comfortable when “things started falling apart.”
“I just didn’t like the way things were going down. There were a lot of things that came to my attention that I didn’t know about, about the family and production value. “ She continues, “I just thought that it was being rushed. I thought that there was nobody who really knew her on that project at all—literally no one. I can only know so much about someone from watching their interviews. I don’t know what she was like in her kitchen talking to her mom. That would be rude of me to try to figure that out without knowing…. I just felt that it was inappropriate, so I didn’t want to do it,” she said. After the terrible reviews of the biopic by critics and fans alike, looks like Z made the right choice!
Her biracial roots soon became a point of contention when she was cast for the movie, and Zendaya has addressed the naysayers multiple times online about being proud of her roots. But it took some time being comfortable with her identity.
“You get the best and the worst of both worlds,” she said. “I know there were a lot of times when you try to figure out where you fit in….But to literally be two races, it’s really hard to see color because I’m the gray area. I had to learn about both sides of myself and be really proud of and educated in both. I think that’s why I’m comfortable with myself and can speak on certain issues because I’ve taken the time, or my parents have taken the time, to teach me who I am.”
Read the rest of Zendaya’s insightful interview over at Complex.
