A planned biopic about the late singer Aaliyah to air on the Lifetime channel is already full of controversy thanks to the casting of Disney star Zendaya. But the drama will only get worse because the film will reportedly focus on the relationship between Aaliyah and R. Kelly.
The New York Post reports that Aaliyah Princess of R&B will include details about the pair’s infamous relationship. In 1994, a then 15-year-old Aaliyah married the then 27-year-old R. Kelly.
The couple denied their relationship was anything beyond mentorship but a license eventually surfaced (Aaliyah’s age was listed as 18) that confirmed the marriage.
“Aaliyah’s personal and professional relationship with R. Kelly will be explored with care in the film as we set out to depict her life with the utmost respect,” executive producer Debra Martin Chase told the Post. “Above all else, it’s our hope to inspire an entirely new generation with her music and larger-than-life talent.”
The Lifetime biopic is based off the book Aaliyah: More Than A Woman, by former Time magazine music editor Christopher Farle and the film will chronicle her life from the age of 10 until her untimely death at the age of 22 in an airplane crash.
Aaliyah’s family is vehemently against the film, vowing to not allow the use of her music and hiring a lawyer to try to halt its production. Perhaps this is all due to R. Kelly and Aaliyah allegedly having been married at one point. See video clip below, chime in at the bottom.
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Photo: AP Photo/Jim Cooper
