Aaliyah
Wendy Williams produced the widely panned and slammed "Aaliyah: The Princess Of R&B" made for TV movie, released by the Lifetime network. Social networking excoriated Williams and Lifetime over the poorly done film that for months prior to its release, the Judiciary Report warned against and predicted would be a major flop. They had time to back out, as the Judiciary Report stated the project would flop and being insulting to Aaliyah's memory, before they began filming.
Now that the movie has spectacularly bombed and Williams and company are being slammed for it in a major way, the gossip talk show host, who is deflated by public comments directed at her, has responded stating, "I see my Aaliyah movie broke the Internet this weekend! Errbody got an opinion. Well, I must tell you, whether you love or hate, you watched. It was the second-highest rated movie on all of cable this year so far. Not just Lifetime. All of cable."
It's sad that you think ratings and money (blood money might I add) are what matter and not actually getting a story right with the correct tact and sensitivity that was needed, regarding a young girl who was a victim of statutory rape at age 14 and died in a terrible plane crash at age 22. The only reason the movie had any viewers at all was not because of you or Lifetime, but due to the fact Aaliyah still has fans who tuned in hoping for a good film, but received a substandard and insulting movie instead. The public backlash means the film is a flop. Your name is also destroyed in filmmaking circles and no production and its attached talent wants the terrible reaction this project received.
Those who know and understand entertainment recognize that Aaliyah was a very talented girl. She never had a flop, which is no small feat in the entertainment industry. She released music that crossed over and were huge hits ("Are You That Somebody" and "Try Again"). She also had R&B hits that made a big impact. She deserved better than this subpar biopic that disrespected her life, family and career. Plain and simply put, you were not equipped to tackle such sensitive subject matter and hurt her family, who are still grieving her death.
If I were you I would be embarrassed to have my name attached to that movie. You guys stole an idea and concepts to make the film and executed it so poorly the public reacted very badly to it. This movie should have been made by knowledgeable people, who actually know what happened regarding Aaliyah's life and work, not greedy, money and publicity hungry individuals, who know nothing about filmmaking. You disrespected the dead for money. Nothing good can come from that.
Another interesting tidbit, insiders in the industry were not happy Monday morning with the awful domestic and global public reaction and terrible reviews regarding "Aaliyah: The Princess Of R&B." They are holding it against those involved in the making of the movie. The industry has been talking and it is not good for those involved in the project, as certain industry film moguls and their staff don't want things like this attached to Hollywood.
