Zendaya covers the Spring issue of New You Magazine, where they managed to style her to look like Toni Braxton in a Farrah Fawcett wig. There’s also some Linda Blair weirdness going on with the position of her head. Zendaya is styled for events so much better than this (see photos below), this looks like it was staged by mall workers from Glamour shots. As we’ve come to expect from Zendaya, she has a lot of wise things to say. I know that she doesn’t get a ton of interest around here but I love how well spoken and smart she is, and I enjoy reporting on her. This is a 19 year-old woman who is more self aware and down to earth than many adult celebrities, although with some of the crap people have been spouting lately that isn’t saying much. It’s like foot-in-mouth season. Here’s some of what Zendaya told New You.
On Photoshopping and being you
“There is no such thing as ugly. That’s a word that doesn’t really enter my vocabulary. If there’s any definition to being perfect, you’re perfect at being yourself. No other person can be you 100 percent; no one has your fingerprint; no one has your DNA. You are you 120 percent, through and through. Whether it is through my social media or whatever, I want anyone who looks up to me to know that I go through the same problems. I have to be confident in who I am. When I learn things about myself, I like to share that journey with people because I know there are a lot of people going through the same thing.”On the importance of education
“I want to promote to young people that it’s okay to be a good citizen. It’s okay to learn. It’s cool to be knowledgeable, to know what’s going on in your country and your world. To form opinions and to talk about it, have discussions and be respectful. I’m trying to make that the new cool.”Question: Were you ever bullied at school?
“I was made fun of [in school] but it didn’t bother me very much because I was very comfortable in who I was. I was taught as a young child by my parents and family to love myself. And it’s the same today—there are certain things that don’t bother me. I just focus on being a good person. I was always very aware of the world and I was never sheltered from the negative things that were out there. I feel that if you shelter your kids from everything, one day they are going to be out in the world on their own and they are going to have to figure it out. You can’t give them a test if you never taught them anything that’s on the test. They’re going to fail. You have to prepare people and sometimes that’s just being honest with them and letting them know things sooner.”She loves Michael Jackson
I’ve always been obsessed with him. Ever since I was little, he was always to me the best entertainer that lived. Just the way he moved, his work ethic, and how he was able to make music without cursing or being profane. [He made] music with a purpose and still was the biggest artist of all time, as well as all the charity work he was able to do. I think he was just the best.The best advice she has received
Be honest with your parents. That’s how you gain their trust, that’s how you get more responsibility, that’s how they will be able to trust you. My parents never have to question. Even before I became an adult, they would never question or worry because I have already proved to them a million times over that I’m a good kid. If something ever happened, I would come to them first. Just be honest with your parents, it’s so much easier.
Remember when bullying was a bigger topic in the media? Usually celebrities who discuss bullying sound understandably sorry for their younger selves, so it’s interesting to hear from someone who says it didn’t affect her. I also like how Zendaya values education, being true to yourself and celebrating your differences. I know she can sound a little Hallmark-cardy and she’s been famous since she was younger and was probably sheltered from a lot of things, but I find her clever and I like that she gets press and interviews. But yeah, she collaborates with Chris Brown on her music so there’s that. Its not like his music is free of profanity, but he’s also a big Michael Jackson fan so maybe they bonded over that.
Credit: WENN.com, the Spring issue of NEW YOU magazine
We’ve been praising her and suddenly she records with Chris Brown.
That ticked me all the way off. How can you be “conscious” and willingly record with that tool?
Ugh, really? Disappointing.
What I thought. She came across as pretty articulate and smart and now this. Bye, Zendaya.
@Liv Instantly came to my mind Tara yelling “How dare you, we were all rooting for you”.
Huge bummer.
Exactly! She knows how to say the right thing to please the public but her actions reveal the truth. Disgusting.
+1
I already rolled my eyes hard at “There is no such thing as ugly.”
I HATE Chris Brown, but I’ve laid off a bit since he completed his sentence. I thought he was fair game during probation though.
Yes he’s an *ss, but I think we cause more damage when you constantly bring up someone’s past. I love Zendaya, but she won’t get my money for this album.
Remember, you can do a record with someone and not actually meet or be in the studio at the same time. It could be that her record company added Chris to the track.
whether you like chris or not he has talent and everyone deserves a second chance. And People are still working with Sean penn and Woody Allen yet they did far worse than Chris brown.
He’s been given way too many chances. A
She’s a very pretty girl, but that hair is ridiculous on the cover. Maybe they are going for a diva theme, not sure. Minus her obsession with MJ, I agree with everything she said. She’s not trying to be edgy just being straight forward and I respect that.
I don’t get it, why Chris brown?
While I don’t believe this amount of celebrities really faced bullying (they just want to be relatable), I like her overall message. I’m so over “bad girls” or “free-spirit” people. I root for her and I want to see her more.
It seems like every young starlet was bullied. It’s a running theme.
It does seem that way. I’ve been working at an elementary school for close to 10 years now and what I will say is that bullying is a constant thing at this age. At some point, almost every child is bullied or teased about something… whether it be the way they dress, not being smart enough or being TOO smart (crazy I know), or even because of being biracial, which may be what happened in Zendaya’s case. I don’t think it’s a stretch the believe that someone was bullied. Furthermore, there are different types of bullying. So you just never know.
But there is a difference between being teased and being bullied.
Celebrities seem to turn mild teasing into a huge sob story. I’m not saying Zendaya is doing that, but a lot of them are.
That may be the case. But if the teasing is harsh or constant and it makes the child feel less than, it’s bullying in my eyes. Just my opinion. When celebs share things like this I don’t necessarily see it as a sob story, but more like “I’ve gone through some of the same things as you and I overcame. You can do the same as well.” So it doesn’t bother me that they share their stories.
What AlmondJoy said.
I think almost every single child gets teased at some point. I’m sure Z is speaking out about it in the hopes that it will comfort some of her fans to know that even if you’re beautiful, kids will find something to pick on you for.
It makes me feel good to think about that someone like you works with children. It is very disturbing for me that some people (who I assume are adults) dismiss teasing as less as bullying. A child who feels less doesn´t care about semantics.
I don’t know if you’re talking to me, but I’ll still answer. I was a fat ( properly fat) nerd. I got teased a lot. And while it did affect my self esteem in a major way, I wasn’t crying myself to sleep and dreading going to school every day like some people I know did because they were bullied. There is a difference.
Kitten- I agree. The most beautiful person will still get teased. Beautiful people can also feel bad about themselves and struggle with self esteem. Zendaya’s example is a good one and hopefully her words will help someone.
Helena- that really means a lot. Thanks you so much. And yes I also hate when adults dismiss the feelings of children, especially when they finally get the courage to speak up.
But Locke Lamora, that’s YOU. Bullying affects each child differently. I’m glad that you didn’t cry yourself to sleep at night but the sad reality is that many children do that and much worse. The affects can be very devastating.
I think you misunderstood me. I’m just saying that teasing and bullying are not the same thing. They can both have horrible concequences.
Some people are effected by body shaming/ fat shaming in different ways though. Some kids just laugh it off, while other kids will only have their self esteem harmed a little bit. But for others, it will have major effects on their self esteem and happiness or lead to unhealthy behavior. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration for a starlet to say that they were bullied if they were regularly treated badly for something like that growing up and it seriously effected their self esteem. And while it’s important that we encourage people to value themselves beyond others’ opinions of their looks and not take every negative comment to heart, disrespecting people because of what their bodies look like isn’t an issue I have a problem with these starlets drawing attention too.
Well if it gives their fans who are being bullied the hope that “it will get better” than I don’t have a problem with them discussing it.I was sexually abused and it helped me when Oprah talked about being a survivor of childhood sexual abuse years ago.
Very disappointed in the Chris Brown thing.
“There is no such thing as ugly” of course there is. you only hear this from very good looking people and it almost sounds like when white people say “i dont see race, i dont care if someone is green or black”
looks determine most of your success in life, you’ll get better grades, earn more, have way more options in your love life, people automatically assume you have virtues etc.
and thats actually hardwired into us (unlike so many other things that are claimed to be hardwired) even babies give more positive feedback to conventionally attractive people but we can hardly blame them, why do so many people love babies? because of their looks.
so yeah there is 100% a thing like ugly and we will never see a movement to fix that, people just love good looking people too much and voluntarily give them power and adoration.
Amen. I like Zendaya, I really do, but working with Chris Briwn? Yuck. Also, while I respect MJ as a musical talent, worshipping him as the best person seems off to me. The man had demons and I have some serious doubts about his relationships with young teens/kids. The obsession with cosmetic surgery and the drugs are another turn off item.
And yes, saying that there are no ugly people… Sister, please. That kind of comment only comes from beautiful people and it is such pure BS. I cut her some slack for being young and well-intended, but I think she was trying to say something about being authentic, unique, true to yourself. She didn’t need to throw physical beauty in there, which you can’t control and is a genetic lottery that you either win, or you don’t. For someone such as herself, who totally won that lottery, it is easy to talk about beauty as if it were a commodity available to everyone. It is not. I look back at my high school years and realize how much privilege my looks brought me compared to some of my friends…
Such humblebragging in your last sentence…yuck. Yes, sometimes “ugly” outside totally prevails ugly inside.
I think you’re more aware of things when you lack them. Beautiful people don’t see just how important looks are, rich people don’t see how crucial money is, etc.
I think that’s true to a degree, yes. But I also think how one is raised factors into that. Growing up, my parents always put a big focus on gratitude and appreciation. That acknowledgment of privilege and opportunity that not everyone has, really shaped my perception of life, well into adulthood.
I agree, Kitten (3rd thing we agree on!). My parents also made sure I understand the privilege I had, but I doubt you can truly understand the importamce of something if you haven’t exeperienced it.
I get what she’s saying about the ugly thing. We have been conditioned to believe that certain things (i.e. dark skin, broad nose, being fat, etc.) are “ugly.” But if you step outside of the matrix, there is no such thing as “ugly” – there is only what you’ve been taught is ugly. And just because Zendaya is conventionally beautiful does not mean that she is surrounded by beauty. Just a few months ago, she had to hop on twitter to defend her parents because twitter trolls were calling both of them all kinds of ugly. I think she’s very enlightened to believe that.
As to the MJ and Chris Brown thing, yeah, that’s a huge turn-off. MJ was a great musician, but a miserable human being. Chris Brown doesn’t even have the music thing (IMO); his stuff is auto-tuned to death.
general physical attractiveness like a symmetrical face is seen as beautiful through all history and cultures and pretty much all people agree on who is beautiful. you might not think that Angelina Jolie is THE most beautiful woman in the world but you would have to admit that she is good looking, same for her husband.
there are certain traits that are seen as less desirable and thats social but symmetry or ratios of shoulders and hips in men and women are biological.
we will never be attracted to someone with an ugly face if we have other options.
I stand by my comment that what is ugly/beautiful is conditioned and taught. Just because “history” says it’s so, doesn’t make it more right. There are people all over the world bleaching their skin, not because white skin is “biologically” more attractive, but because we’ve been taught (consciously or not) that it is preferred.
Certain things, like facial symetry are percieved as more attractive because of biological reasons, but other have been socially conditioned.
@Santia: so would you want to be with a partner that has a crooked nose, one lazy eye, a hunchback and missing teeth? none of us would, no matter how great the person is. nothing to do with being taught, its your body and brain not feeling any attraction.
of course racism plays a part in it but in a world without racism we would still prefer people with symmetrical faces. im very sure we will beat racism and sexism but lookism or whatever you want to call it will always be around, simply because of sexual attraction that influences us a lot. even if we could get rid of work place discrimination for ugly people it would still mean basically being cut off from love to put it a bit dramatically.
i am talking about symmetry and hip : shoulder ratios because thats whats biological the other stuff is social, that is true but that does not mean ugly and beauty are social contructs, certain things can be but the overall concept is not!
why do babies react more favourably to conventionally attractive people? society couldnt have any influence on that.
@Locke Lamora: just saw yours after i posted mine, yes thats what i mean. we can get rid of the racism in the beauty industry but we wont get rid of beauty privilege.
@Esther I’m not sure why you are saying with such convicton that NO ONE can feel attracted to “ugly” people. If that was the case, the human population would be much, much smaller. A vast majority falls in to the average and below category but manages to reproduce, even without face or body symmetry.
HeySandy: having sex and being in a relationship with someone does not mean you are actually attracted to that person. most people dont want to be alone and there are only so many Brangelinas around.
@Esther LOL okay wow. No offense, but that is a very shallow, limited mindset. So basically you’re saying that average people can’t be attracted to each other, that they long for the Brangelinas of the world while settling for an ugly? Believe it or not, people tend to value more then just physical attractiveness in partners. If all you base a relationship on is attractiveness then all beautiful people would be happily in love, but it doesn’t always happen like that. Plus sometimes there are couples where one person is less attractive then the other. Assuming there is nothing extetnal to be gained in that dynamic, how would you explain that?
I think good looks don’t matter so much, but bad looks matter a lot.
As far as celebrities being bullied, I could imagine a large percent of them were. Because they were usually the artists, theatre kids, band kids, often the smart and gifted kids. Sometimes the kids who have something extra going on are the ones who are targets. Then again, plenty of celebs were cheerleaders and prom queens.
It’s my belief that in high school almost everyone feels like an outsider, and the inside is hardly anyone. Of course, I was a social outcast who was bullied HARD, so maybe that’s just what I tell myself.
I think most people experience being bullied, participating in it, or being a bystander at some point.
@Esther: ITA
What bugs me is that such comments are usually made by very good-looking people and I find it annoying.
why Chris Brown? because anything for the fame and Benjamins. That is not her hips in the second picture. she’s lost some weight since Shake It off so I know for a fact she doesn’t have hips as opposed to someone like Miley who is still skinny but have hips. Zendaya is very smart but at this point, she’s kinda famous for being famous
It’s refreshing that she responded with the phrase “made fun of” and didn’t do the whole “woe is me I was bullied” shtick that everyone does.
Because guess what? Every kid was made fun of at some point. It’s life. It’s no big deal, it’s part of growing up.
A lot less people were actually bullied. Being bullied is much more than being made fun of for some small thing one day here and there. Being bullied is being consistently threatened and abused by your peers. I’m glad to see the distinction being made. So many celebrities seem to remember a small incident of being made fun of and call it bullying.
+1. It’s nice to hear that a millennial didn’t fall apart or worse because people were not constantly blowing spoke up their a**. Most people I know got made fun of/tease or in the extreme bullied about one thing or another. It’s always horrible but these days people have turn any little ribbing into this giant monster called “bullying”. it’s become kind of eyeroll inducing for me. Frankly, I think this generation is WAY too coddled and will face a lot of challenges in life because they’ve been raised as “special snowflakes” who should always be supported. And life does not work that way.
Well, I think there’s some gray area between “always supporting people and constantly blowing smoke up people’s asses” vs. not attacking, disrespecting, ostracizing, or harassing people….especially over their body, real or perceived sexuality, gender, race, or ethnicity. Unfortunately, sometimes people act like being called out for doing the latter is being told that they must do the former, and that’s a problem too.
So she cried ‘racism’ and smeared Giulana Ranic but has no problems working with Difficult Brown? A woman abuser? I really don’t like this girl and her double standards. She is famous for acting like a spoiled brat rather then her work.
As soon as somebody start with “cried racism” you already know everything you need to know about them. Minorities do not need to “cry racism”, it’s a very real thing that they face constantly. But I don’t expect someone like you to get that that at all. I don’t know why I’m even engaging…
Preach! Rancic stepped in shyt and got called on it. Point blank period.
Everything you said after ‘cried racism’ was just an excuse for your opinions on her defending herself. She’s famous for being a voice of reason, not for being a brat.
You don’t think there’s any racism involved when a white person doing something is seen as pretty, fashionable, or cool but POC doing the same thing are seen as druggies or in some other way being “up to no good”?
I just can’t like an actor or singer just because they might be a good person. If she is a good person that is good but if you aren’t a good actor or are making good music I can’t care much. Call me when she proves she is a decent actress or makes a good pop song.
Good people don’t work with woman abusers like Chris Brown.
Do good people work with Woody Allen,Roman Polanski,etc? I’m asking because I rarely do I see these comments on Cate Blanchett,Rachel McAdams,etc posts
Because of course a woman is accountable for and complicit in any and all bad behavior of a male she chooses to either work for, hook up with, date, or marry.
You’re like, the opposite of every other commenter here. This is the place where we condemn, ban, blacklist, and scream at every artist who says the wrong thing, regardless of how well they do their job.
I like you.
You’re different.
Because the jobs they do are not normal jobs where only the work counts. They have a whole persona they have to mantain, the work is just a part of it. They have incredible wealth and privileges AND PR people to advise them so the minimum they could do is watch their behaviour. Besides, there are hundreds more talented just waiting to replace them.
Personally, I can overlook certain things, but being ungrateful and unpleasent to the people around them colours my perception of the celebrity so much I can’t enjoy their work as much.
Oh, Kitten, we were on such a streak today.
But it doesn’t have to be like that though and it didn’t used to be like that. I mean, yes people have always had an interest in the personal lives of actors and musicians, but never was it ever to the degree that we have now, with the advent of social media.
At what point do you say “well yeah maybe (s)he’s not the most polished, nicest person but (s)he’s fantastically talented and does his/her job well”?
We just have completely different sensibilities when it comes to this issue, Locke.
These people are just humans like the rest of us so why the public expects them to be a better or more perfect version of us really puzzles me. Great actors aren’t hired for movies based on how sweet they are, they’re hired because they’re good at what they do.
BTW, this isn’t something that I apply only to celebrities, I feel the same way about the people that I interact with on a daily basis. For instance, I’d rather have the efficient-yet-curt cashier who gets my sh*t rung up and bagged up in a timely fashion than the sweet-but-slow-as-hell cashier who is polite and chatty but takes twice as long to do the same job.
I don’t need everyone in my life to be friendly–that doesn’t necessarily make my life better or easier. But I always need people to do their job well–that inevitably makes my life better AND easier.
Likewise, I don’t need my actors to be perfect people, just turn in a killer performance and I’ll watch your movies. But as I said, it’s a difference in sensibilities. I don’t apply the same standards that I would to say, a family member, to a perfect stranger and I don’t have the same expectations of an actor that I do of my best friend.
It depends on the behaviour for me. I can overlook certain mistakes ( I can overlook things like drugs or infidelity, which are really bad things but I can neglect them while watching a performance). But ungratefulness and entitelment just make me angry. Same with treating people who are below you on the totem pole badly. I think we had this discussion on the Hardy thread.
I can overlook a lot of things in my real life too. I understand people are complex. But arrgance I just can not stomach.
As for cashiers – super smiley ones freak me out. They made the cashiers at our local supermarket ask if everything was fine and it made people so uncomfortable they had tocl stop.
YES! What is with that? This is the new thing now: every cashier from CVS to Whole Foods now asks “did you find what you were looking for?”
“Yes I found the toilet paper and lettuce just fine, thank you.”
But back to the topic at hand…
Look, we all have our favorites and we all have celebs that we don’t care for. I’m the first to admit that I will not watch anything with Charlie Sheen in it. Mel Gibson….well, I would watch one of his movies if the story appealed to me and if there was a bunch of other actors that I liked in it. But I would likely avoid another Passion of The Christ vanity project from Gibson because I just really don’t like the guy. So maybe I’m being a tad hypocritical. Maybe it just comes down to our personal preferences of what we find tolerable in another person.
I agree with kitten. Wealth and fame shouldn’t be seen as things that erase or prevent character flaws (something that all of us humanfolk seem to have.) If a person does something truly awful, I’ll be like “Yeah, I just can’t enjoy their stuff without thinking about what they’ve done.” But if it’s just a character/personality flaw that anyone can have (like being rude or demanding or irresponsible) I can overlook it.
@Loo That’s a running theme in these parts. Being nice is a requirement to like a celebrity. It isn’t about the work it’s about are they smiling and pleasant 24 hours a day.
Ugh. When did it stop being OK to have a normal amount of hair on your head?
Amen! A.MEN.
Chris Brown?! Why, Z??
I don’t know what happened to my first comment so here I go again. About her working with Chris Brown – don’t any of you think there is any chance of rehabilitation for someone like him? I mean unlike Polanski or woody he went to court and did his sentence. I don’t know if he has received any or what kind of a person he is now,but whenever I see all the hate for him I always wonder if its a good idea to just write him off forever like that.
Fair question.
I go back and forth with Brown.
I mean, by all accounts the guy came from a really abusive home, seeing his mother routinely beaten by his stepdad. At the end of the day, that man was Chris’s only male role model and at some point, you have to acknowledge the learned behavior that was going on there.
But I think Brown is a really angry individual and the only way he can change that is with therapy and a commitment to becoming a better person. Is he doing that? I don’t know…seems like he’s always getting press for getting in fights, both verbally and physically.
On a personal note, I think he’s pretty talented. I’m not much into pop music but Five More Hours is a song they play in one of my classes at the gym and I have to say that I’m into it.
So yeah, it would be great if he changed, but so far I’m not seeing evidence of that.
If he beat Rihanna, did his sentence, truly apologised and promoted therapy for domestic abuse victims and perpretators, I’d probably forgive him. I think people change and everyone makes mistakes.
But years have passed, his lyrics are as mysoginistic as ever, he surrounds himself with other mysoginists and did you even listen to his apology? He practically admitted the only reason he was talking was because his album sales dropped.
So nope, no forgiveness from me. He’s still an abuser.
I do have a problem with people acting like working with him makes you an accomplice of abuse though. A job is a job. I can separate Chris Brown as a person from Chris Brown as an R&B singer. If Z went out giving interviews about how lovely he is and how we should all forgive him, I’d side-eye her. Just doing a collabo with him? Eh.
Is she promoting something?
Ohhhh ‘Z’ – come on now. You’re struggle isn’t real. You’ve been blessed with the lifestyle you’ve lived. You are a talented, beautiful, young woman and don’t need all this messiness.
I’m not a fan of Chris Brown and don’t respect him, but I don’t think it’s wrong for people to work with him as long as they don’t come out and defend him beating Rihanna. That’s the difference between Rita Ora working with him and Zendaya working with him. Unlike Rita, Zendaya didn’t make any statements implying that his talent and success make him abusing Rihanna ok. Until that changes, or unless her work with him is a collaboration on a project that actually defends/glorifies violence against women, I have no problem with her working with Chris Brown and calling herself a feminist. Working with or marrying someone isn’t an automatic seal of approval on all of their behavior, beliefs, comments, or actions. The trend of blaming women for male behavior by making them accountable for any and all stupidity, misogyny, bad behavior, or wrongdoing from the men they marry, fuck, date, or work with really needs to die. Also, people not working with Chris Brown won’t change what he did.
Is that why women like Scarjo, Natalie Portman, Michelle Williams, Cate Blanchett all get criticized for working with Woody Allen or Roman Polanksi? Portman especially? People call her a child molester supporter here. I see double standards here for Zendaya. Chris Brown is in the league as those men and does not get a pass from me sorry.
If Portman is a considered to be a pedo-sympathizer, then Zendaya is okay with women getting abused.
You cannot be feminist and then turn around to go work for an abuser. Makes no sense.
I’m not sure what your occupation is, but I’m wondering if you do background checks on every person you interact with professionally. Seriously. Do you vet the guy who sells you donuts at Dunkies?
Because here’s the thing: I have a huge client base that I deal with every year. I have no idea if every one of them is a great person, a few I know are NOT great people. I’m thinking of one client in particular who is very lucrative for our agency but who is a pretty awful person by even average standards. Am I obligated to refuse his money because of ethical reasons or should I just do the job that I’m getting paid to do? Because I’m pretty sure I would get fired if I told one of my crappy clients to go screw. I guess I’m just as lacking in morality as Scarjo or Zendaya, huh?
@Otaku-ITA with what you said 100%
I just love her face! Usually we are only presented with beautiful black celebs that except for their darker skin tone, could pass for Polish or something. Rarely we see someone who look ambiguously Asian which arguably one of the most erased heritage in Hollywood (I’m aware Z is not).