Halle Bailey Reflects on Being The Little Mermaid
The release of the highly anticipated live-action film, The Little Mermaid, is quickly approaching, and Halle Bailey is opening up about how her experience has been thus far.
Bailey has received a lot of love since being cast as Ariel, bringing joy to Black young girls worldwide. Many parents shared recordings online of their children’s reactions to seeing Bailey as The Little Mermaid for the first time, and the content was heartwarming.
Unfortunately, the revolutionary role encountered backlash from viewers opposing Disney’s choice to cast a Black actress to play the 1989 animated character who was originally white. Shortly after the announcement, #NotMyAriel began trending on Twitter.
Yes, representation matters!! Watch kids react to Black Ariel!! See the #LittleMermaid trailer for yourself: https://t.co/yXffAl9D7y
— Pee-wee Herman (@peeweeherman) September 14, 2022
(compilation by armlina/TT) pic.twitter.com/7x3bBXDncr
watching little black kids react to the little mermaid trailer is healing my childhood heart.
— (@NicoleRaquel_D) September 12, 2022
In an interview with The Face magazine, the multitalented artist opened up about the backlash she’s received since taking on the role and how she stays positive through it all. She mentions not being surprised about the adverse reactions after being cast as Ariel. “As a Black person, you just expect it and it’s not really a shock anymore,” She continues, “People don’t understand that when you’re Black there’s this whole other community,” In this case, the importance of representation prevailed through the controversy. Bailey states, “It’s so important for us to see ourselves.”
Things are increasingly getting better for Bailey, as the star took to her Instagram to excitedly reveal the newest Ariel doll under her portrayal. “I have something really exciting to reveal to you all. I am gonna cry,” Bailey stated in an emotional video posted on March 6.
She comments, “This is the new Little Mermaid doll! I am literally choking up because this means so much to me. And to have one that looks like me, that’s my favorite Disney character, is very surreal. And look, she even has my mole!”
The Little Mermaid will premiere in theaters on May 26. You can watch the trailer for the film below.
