Exclusive Report: Zendaya Coleman Dishes About Her New Movie, Music, And Book On HuffPost Live

Earlier today, I had the very distinct honor of joining my daughter during an exclusive HuffPost Live segment featuring Zendaya Coleman. Zendaya is perhaps best known for her role as Rocky Blue on Disney Channel’s hit TV series Shake It Up! She sat down with HuffPost Live’s Ahmed Shihab-Eldin to talk about her new movie, new book, music video, her campaign with Carmex, and life growing up in Hollywood as a child star. Needless to say, Zendaya has been one very busy young lady.

On her movie Zapped:

Zendaya talks about being able to relate to the character in the movie because she is a new kid in town, facing the challenge of fitting in at a new school. This is something Zendaya herself experienced when moving from Oakland to Los Angeles. When it came to making friends in Hollywood, Zendaya found that some industry people seemed to be more of a ‘character all the time’, so seeking out authentic friendships proved to be challenging.

On trusting her gut:

For me, I have a really strong gut feeling, you know what I mean, and I always go with that. I think sometimes other people will talk and persuade you to think otherwise but I think it’s really important, especially being a young person, to stick with your guns and really be proud of, you know, whatever your feeling is.

In the interview, she also talks about onscreen sparks between her and her Zapped co-star Spencer Boldman. Sorry to say fans, there will be no kissing in the new movie.

When it comes to personal freedom, Zendaya insists that she is her ‘own boss’ and that only her parents have ‘veto power’ over what she says, wears, and does. She also encourages young people to actively pursue their own dreams, style, and to have a mind of their own.

When it comes to personal style, Zendaya prefers to have a lot of control too. Even though she works with a personal stylist, she says that sometimes she and her stylist tend to butt heads about things, but for the most part, they see eye to eye.

‘I am very meticulous… I want everything to be perfect. It’s a perfectionist thing,’ Zendaya tells her host.

On plans to work with Bella in the future:

There’s no specific plans in the works right now, but Zendaya says that she would absolutely work with Bella again if the opportunity presented itself.

Zendaya’s celebrity crush:

I have a few but one of my favorites, I would have to say, is Channing Tatum, but the list goes on and on…

During the interview, Zendaya was also very outspoken about the importance of having a healthy body image and when compared with wayward young stars like Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber, this was her response:

I’m just a different person, you know what I’m saying? I think everyone grows their own way. Everyone’s going to grow, and figure out who they are, and some people aren’t going to like it, and some people aren’t going to agree with it, but at the end of the day, it’s their journey.

Watch the entire interview here.

Zendaya has a new movie called Zapped, a new book titled Between You and Me, and a new music video Replay. Find out more about what’s next for Zendaya on her official website or by following her on Twitter @Zendaya.