Halle Bailey has responded to backlashed she received about her role in The Little Mermaid. During a red carpet interview at Variety’s annual Young Hollywood Impact Report Bailey says that she is unbothered by the negative comments,
“I feel like I’m dreaming and I’m just grateful. I don’t pay attention to the negativity. I feel like this role is something bigger than me and greater, and it’s going to be beautiful. I’m just so excited to be apart of it.”
Last month Halle Baily made history when she was cast as the first black women to play Ariel, a white mermaid who dreams of becoming a human after falling in love with a prince, in the Disney classic live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.
While most people celebrated Bailey, others protested saying that Ariel wasn’t black which spawned into the hateful hashtags, #NotMyAriel, and #NotMyMermaid. However, that did not stop supporters from coming to her defense. An open letter from Freeform, where Baily stars on the network show Grownish, quicky got the haters together by reminding them that Bailey is more than qualified for the role as Ariel: “After all this is said and done, and you still cannot get past the idea that choosing the incredible, sensational, highly-talented gorgeous Halle Bailey is anything other than the inspired casting that it is because ‘she doesn’t look like the cartoon one,’ oh boy do I have some news for you about you.”
It has also been announced that Queen Latifah will star is Ursula in the live ABC remake. Production for the live version is slated to being in 2020.
