Cher will no longer appear as planned in “Flint,” a Lifetime original movie about contaminated river water that became a main water source in the Michigan city in 2014.
The announcement came weeks after news was released that the 70-year-old singer would star in and produce the film.
Cher, who has helped donate more than 100,000 bottles of clean drinking water to the residents of Flint, cited “a serious family issue” as the reason for dropping out.
“This has been a project so near and dear to my heart, and I was truly looking forward to helping tell this story,” she said in a statement. “Unfortunately, I will be unable to leave Los Angeles during the scheduled filming as I am dealing with a serious family issue that prevents me from going on location for the April filming. I’m so glad that [producers] Craig [Zadan] and Neil [Meron] plan to move ahead, and I know that this Lifetime movie will be done beautifully.”
According to Deadline, producers have been in the process of casting other roles for "Flint," but the film is still on track to begin production in Toronto next month.
The film is based on Time magazine's February 2016 cover story by Josh Sanburn titled, "The Toxic Tap."
Cher’s role was a Flint resident whose family was impacted by the crisis.
"Flint" is described as "a hard-hitting, fact-based drama that will explore the events that led to the toxic crime and shed light on politics of the poor management and the human element of residents who suffered and were ignored," according to Variety magazine.
Katie Couric will also serve as an executive producer for the Sony TV-produced film.
This week, comedian Amy Schumer announced she will no longer star in another Sony-produced film as previously planned.
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