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Zendaya Just Responded to All That Age-Related Backlash Over ‘Malcolm & Marie’

Zendaya
Zendaya

Jim Spellman/WireImage, Getty Images

While the world was in the midst of figuring out how life could continue on within the throes of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Zendaya, John David Washington, and Sam Levinson were still hard at work. The trio, along with minimal cast and crew, filmed a romantic feature film while in lockdown, Malcolm & Marie, which is set to premiere on Netflix on February 5th. However, now that the hard part of putting the film together is over, Zendaya says she's now working on reshaping her image as an adult after playing teens up until this point.

When news of Malcolm & Marie hit social media, the public immediately became concerned about the age gap between Zendaya, 24, and Washington, 36. And Zendaya thinks that has a lot to do with the fact that "I've played a 16-year-old since I was 16."

"You have to remember, also, people grew up with me as a child," Zendaya, who made her debut on the Disney Channel, said during a video interview with The Daily Pop. "It's like watching, I guess, your younger sibling now, you know, they're grown...You're not ready for it."

"It's hard for people to wrap around the idea that I am grown in real life," she continued, adding, "You know, even though I do play a teenager on television still."

Zendaya made her first big step out of the Disney Channel spotlight when she took the role as Rue Bennett on Levinson's hit HBO drama Euphoria, for which she recently won an Emmy. Rue's character is a far cry from her pre-teen character Rocky on Disney Channel's Shake It Up, in which she starred alongside Bella Thorne.

But with Malcolm & Marie now under her belt, it will be less difficult for her fans to come to terms with the fact that she is growing up and taking adult roles—and we're thrilled to see what doors open for her after this breakthrough.