In a recent interview with The New York Times, Zendaya said her “agency was stripped away” in the wake of outrage over Malcolm And Marie being written and directed by a white filmmaker. Zendaya’s Euphoria creator Sam Levinson is credited as the writer and director of “Malcolm & Marie,” but Zendaya maintains her voice and perspective carried through into the film’s script. “Malcolm & Marie” drew largely negative reviews, with several reviewers criticizing Levinson’s writing of two Black characters.⁠

“I think it also oddly mirrors a little bit of Marie’s plight, right? It’s like Marie saying the whole movie [Malcolm’s film] is also mine. But actually in real life, we do have the credit, this is ours, and John David, I, and Sam equally own this film,” she said.