Keke Palmer has explained why she passed on Lifetime's Whitney Houston biopic.
The 20-year-old Just Keke host addressed the issue in an interview with Chris Witherspoon of The Grio. Palmer has appeared in three Lifetime original movies in the past two years, but said she did not pursue a role in the new film because Houston's family is not involved with the project.
"Initially, I was thinking about the Whitney Houston [biopic] ... to play Whitney," she revealed. "But I don't know if that was a story I wanted to tell, because the family's not involved, and that's a big part for me."
"If you're going to do a movie or biopic about someone, the family needs to be involved, because you want it to be as honest as possible," she continued. "I think that was what didn't really make me go out for it."
The feature will mark actress Angela Bassett's directorial debut, with Yaya DaCosta to star as Houston. The casting choice upset Houston's daughter Bobbi Kristina, who hoped to take on the role herself. The aspiring actress slammed Bassett on Twitter for the perceived slight, and Palmer said she understands why the young woman was upset.
"I can't say that everything [Bobbi Kristina] said was perfectly said or anything like that, but I can understand her frustration," Palmer acknowledged. "I think it came more from the family not being involved at all... It feels as if you're trying to use the name but you're not really even caring about the people that are gonna be affected by it, like the family."