"American Horror Story: Freak Show" actress Angela Bassett has explained her decision to cast former "America's Next Top Model" contestant Yaya DaCosta in the upcoming lifetime biopic "Whitney Houston" over Houston's daughter, Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown.

"We care about the humanity of this woman and man, telling their story," Bassett, who will direct the film, said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly last week. "... So I'm going to protect it to the best of my abilities. I'm not going to read those negative comments because everyone has something to say."

Although many fans speculated that Bobbi Kristina would be cast to portray her late mother, Basset said she never considered casting the 21-year-old "probably for a number of reasons."

"One being that she's not an actress," Bassett explained. "I know she's acted here and there. I know she's been on their family's reality show, but she's not an actress and acting is a craft. ... This is a very fast-paced schedule; we have just 21 days to tell this story. It's more than just saying lines and turning the light on. You have to drive the story -- there's a technical aspect."

Bassett cast many unknown faces in the film instead.

"I don't want to stop you at the gate with maybe the image of something familiar, someone you've seen from something else," Bassett shared. "You've already got your perception of them as an actor and person, and now you've got to put that to the side and squint your eyes and imagine this is Whitney and Bobby, you know what I mean?"

Bobbi Kristina, however, was not fully convinced of Bassett's reasoning.

"Ha MsAng 'bassketcase' has such a damn nerve my lord, at least the world doesn't mistake me for the wrong sex...she has some #XtraEquipment," she wrote via Twitter on June 28. "When I win my first Grammy or Oscar, *Shrugs* hmm whichever comes1st, I'll be sure 2shout URname out bitch ! ... hahUrTestResults= MALE. Lmao."

By June 29, Houston's daughter seemed to have calmed down.

"I am my mothers daughter, the world will do what it does. & so will I . God bless you ALLLLLLLLL ..." she tweeted.

"I'm a young woman who can admit her wrongs," Brown added according to BET. "4who was offended I apologize BUT understand me before your [sic] quick to judge though."

"Whitney Houston" premieres on Lifetime in 2015. "American Horror Story: Freak Show," in which Bassett will play a freak that she has hinted is not the bearded lady, begins in October on FX.
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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

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