Zendaya once clapped back at trolls who insulted her family - but it isn’t the only time she’s been forced to deal with online hate.
The 28-year-old seems to be one of the most booked and busy actresses of her generation, with a plethora of upcoming projects in the works, including Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, Dune: Part Three, as well as Shrek 5, the fourth MCU Spider-Man movie and The Drama with Robert Pattinson and Alana Haim.
Despite Zendaya also being a singer, model and one of the most influential people in the world (via Time), it appears not even she is safe from trolls.
Back in 2015, the former Disney star received an outpouring of abuse after posting a selfie with her parents, Claire Stoermer and Kazembe Ajamu Coleman.
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Both Stoermer and Coleman, who previously worked as public school teachers, have been credited with keeping Zendaya ‘grounded’ over the years, with the star herself saying how ‘lucky’ she was to have them both.
“I gotta give it up to my parents. I’m really lucky to have the parents that I have. They just have always instilled in me those core values that I think I have to carry with me through everything,” she once told Ellen DeGeneres.
However, when the Euphoria favourite immortalised her positive relationship with her parents online, she was met with hate.
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“Her parents really ugly I really would cry,” someone responded to the picture.
A second said: “They made a gorgeous a** child lol.”
Zendaya was quick to post a response to the trolls online, writing: “First, I’m gonna pray for you.
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“While you’re so concerned about what my parents look like, please know that these are two of the most selfless people in the world.
“They have chosen to spend their entire life, not worried about trivial things such as looks and insulting people’s parents on Twitter, but instead became educators who have dedicate their lives to teaching, cultivating and filling young shallow minds. (One of the most important yet underpaid jobs we have).”
She continued: “So please, log out, go to school, hug a teacher and read a textbook… and while you’re at it, go look in the mirror and know that you too are beautiful, because such hateful things only stem from internal struggles. Bless you.”
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The Challengers star then signed off the note from her and her ‘beautiful family’.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that Zendaya has posted a nuanced comeback to online hate.
In 2020, the star dropped out of the Lifetime Aaliyah biopic and was forced to address the reason why, citing it had ‘nothing to do with the haters’.
She said: “The reason why I chose not to do the Aaliyah movie had nothing to do with the haters, or people telling me that I ‘couldn’t do it,’ or ‘wasn’t talented enough’ or I wasn’t ‘Black enough.’
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“It had absolutely nothing to do with that. The main reasons were that the production value wasn’t there, there were complications with the music rights, and I just felt like it wasn’t being handled delicately considering the situation.”
The star, who was just 17 at the time, alleged that she ‘tried [her] best’ to reach out to the late singer’s family via letter, but was unable to speak to them.
“So therefore I felt not really morally okay with moving forward with the project. With all that being said, congratulations to the new woman playing Aaliyah, I only hope that she does not have to deal with half the hate that I had to deal with,” Zendaya added.
“And remember that we are all human beings trying to do what we love to do. Let’s practice motivation and love not discrimination and hate. Alright? Muah!”
Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B premiered in 2014 with Alexandra Shipp at the helm.
Topics: Celebrity, Social Media, Zendaya, Parenting
Ella Scott