adminTaking to social media in their droves, the masses slammed everything from the casting of key roles to actress Alexandra Shipp’s portrayal of the late, great singer and the fact that the 23-year-old’s long black hair wasn’t worn across one side of her face as the songstress was so well-known for. The other key factor was that Lifetime seemed to be relying on viewers not knowing what pivotal real-life players such as Missy Elliott, Timbaland, R Kelly and even Aaliyah herself actually look like.
It was a sentiment echoed by rapper and record producer Timbaland, who inundated his Instagram feed with funny memes and even several personal videos expressing his true feelings about the whole movie in general.
‘‘A lotta people keep asking me if I’m watching that bulls.
“Evidently not, no way, not Timbo,” he says in a brooding video posted that evening as he quickly flooded his feed with hatred aimed at Lifetime and everyone involved in the telemovie’s production including talk show host Wendy Williams, who served as a co-executive producer.
‘They have felt Timbo’s wrath tonight, baby,’’ the 42-year-old declared in another video, while a third said he wasn’t over yet, with more to come in the morning.
Holding true to his word, come Sunday, more memes and jibes had popped up, slamming the clearly low-budget production.
Of course, it’s little wonder Timbaland was so invested in the film, having worked closely with the singer prior to her tragic death in 2001, aged just 22.
Both he and Missy Elliott – who are both depicted in the biopic by actors who bear no resemblance to them in the slightest produced Aaliyah’s second album, “One In A Million”.
The album sold an impressive 3,7 million copies in the United States alone, with a total of 8 million worldwide.
With the project having gotten off to a rocky start from the get-go, it’s little wonder the final edit wasn’t well received.
Nickelodeon actress Zendaya was originally slated for the lead role, though she bowed out when it became clear that Aaliyah’s family wasn’t on board with the film, despite producers having reached out to them.
Taking to Instagram prior to the film airing on Saturday, Aaliyah’s eventual portrayer, Alexandra Shipp, pre-empted the criticism, though she asked fans to be supportive and see it for the tribute it is rather than tear it to shreds.
‘‘When watching my film tonight, know that I am human,’’ she wrote. ‘Know that your words and your opinions are your own and that you may think you know, but until we speak face 2 face, you’ll never truly know who I am.
‘‘That’s ok. I can’t wait to meet each and every one of my fans one day. Because I’m a fan of them too! I work hard, I put all my effort into whatever I do.’’- dailymail
Online Reporter