Halle Bailey’s landed the lead role in Disney’s The Little Mermaid live-action film, and the announcement was met with racist backlash.
The 19-year-old singer currently stars in ABC’s Grown-ish alongside her sister, Chloe.
“In case you needed a reminder… Halles get it DONE,” wrote Halle’s Twitter account. “Congratulations @chloexhalle on this amazing opportunity, we can’t wait to see what you do!”
dream come true…
pic.twitter.com/sndjYUS6wO
— chloe x halle (@chloexhalle) July 3, 2019
“Dream come true,” was also posted from the duo’s account alongside a picture of Halle as a Black Ariel.
While the groundbreaking announcement was met with tons of congratulatory messages from Disney fans, including Zendaya, it ruffled a few feathers. Social media users began arguing that the mermaid should have her signature red hair and white skin like the original film.
The hashtag #NotMyAriel was the number one trending topic on the 4th of July while half of the users fought against Bailey’s casting, and the other half was dragging the hashtag.
https://twitter.com/AutumnGalaxyy/status/1146933943868035073
#NotMyAriel trending on July 4th, how ironic of twitter to show what America is really built on pic.twitter.com/r474ppeVxo
— Victoria (@vicbinga) July 5, 2019
Hope this shows up at the top of #NotMyAriel so everybody can get mad on this glorious day
pic.twitter.com/CqravhaCzB
— youtube/Alonzo (@alonzolerone) July 4, 2019
#NotMyAriel we’ve had white people play Egyptians since forever, shush pic.twitter.com/FFuzQT1iqp
— Lay (@PurpleBbyG) July 5, 2019
Me Seeing #NotMyAriel and Colored Trending on July 4…
Well, this is America. Why am I suprise? pic.twitter.com/PYYsW5IYWa— Oliver Siafa (@SiafaOliver) July 5, 2019
There are children in cages, and y'all are arguing over the fucking race of a mermaid? #NotMyAriel pic.twitter.com/kdQwHUcAx7
— Alexa (@lucy_dre) July 5, 2019
The people tweeting #NotMyAriel were raised by the people who said “Not my drinking fountain” and “Not my school.”
— John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) July 4, 2019
https://twitter.com/ZekZebZab/status/1146887145946263552