Timbaland has added his voice to the criticism of Lifetime’s biopic of R&B star Aaliyah, after the film caused uproar on social media, mostly because of its casting choices.
The producer, who worked closely with the singer before her death in 2001, described the production as “bullshit” before posting videos and photos criticising the biopic, which aired on Saturday.
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Most of the criticism centred around the casting choices. Social media users pointed out that stars in the movie – such as Izaak Smith, who played Timbaland, and Chattrisse Dolabaille, who played Missy Elliott – barely resembled the musicians they were depicting.
Fans used hashtags such as #LifetimeBiopics and #LifetimeBeLike to mock the studio’s casting decisions by coming up with their own off-target casting choices.
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Aaliyah: The Princess Of R&B was controversial even before it aired. Aaliyah’s family did not allow the studio to use her music, and Zendaya Coleman, who was originally picked to play Aaliyah, backed out after describing the project as “rushed”.
Executive producer Debra Martin Chase told the Washington Post before the transmission on Saturday: “Biopics are hard. People have an opinion and social media allows them to voice that opinion. But at the end of the day, our goal was to make the best movie possible.”
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