Where Is the Real Zola Now?
But if youre wondering what exactly happened to the real Zola since her story broke the internet, heres everything you need to know. The story quickly went viral and now, Zolas thread is coming to the big screen in an adaptation starring Taylour Paige as Zola and Riley Keough as Stefani (the movie version of Jessica). A'Ziah "Zola" King is the woman responsible for the viral 148-tweet thread that came to be known online simply as #TheStory. In 2015, Zola was waiting tables at a Hooters when she met Jessica. After the girls bonded over [their] hoe-ism, Jessica invited Zola to Florida to dance. Despite knowing Jessica for only 24 hours, Zola agreed to go and what followed was a harrowing road trip to Tampa during which a series of increasingly wild events took place. Although the story included a number of chilling details including sex trafficking and gun violence, it quickly gained popularity and was soon being retweeted by celebrities like Solange Knowles and Ava DuVernay. Article continues below advertisement  Ever since her thread went viral, Zola has been very vocal about her experiences with her newfound fame and the process of adapting her Twitter thread into a movie. Article continues below advertisement  Just months after the story made the rounds online, James Franco announced that he would be adapting the story for the big screen. Zola was set to be involved with the production from day one, with her mom and manager confirming to BuzzFeed News that once things begin moving along, A'ziah will be involved 100 percent.  After some sexual misconduct allegations against Franco, he stepped down from the project and Janicza Bravo took over as the movies director. It turned out to be a positive thing for Zola because Janicza fought for Zolas involvement in the project even more, making sure the threads author got an Executive Producer credit along with her compensation. Article continues below advertisement  Although Zola wasnt on set for most of the filming because she was pregnant at the time, she said that Janicza would FaceTime her from the set to make sure they were getting the true authenticity of the story on film. Source: getty Director Janicza Bravo, AZiah King and Riley Keough  Article continues below advertisement  The same went for actress Taylour Paige, who plays Zola in the movie. Taylour and I got close, on a personal level, Zola explained to Time. [S]he really wanted to do it justice. She could really get inside my head, so to speak.  Zola has been heavily involved in the promotion of the movie, being present for cast interviews and even going to its premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. In 2020, Zola also released a cute lil 5 track EP, under the stage name Zolarmoon. You can listen to her musical debut on most music streaming platforms.