Halle Bailey has made a name for herself in the music industry. Along with her sister Chlöe Bailey, the duo helms the R&B team called Chloe x Halle. It has earned five Grammy Award nominations since its inception. Apart from music, Halle is also into acting and has done some films.
She will also portray Ariel in the upcoming Disney live-action film ‘The Little Mermaid.’ It is a live-action adaptation of the eponymous 1989 animated classic. Her casting in the film met with severe racist backlash. Now, the 22-year-old has addressed the backlash in an interview.
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Halle Bailey Talks About ‘The Little Mermaid’ Backlash
Halle Bailey made a name for herself in the music industry at a very young age. However, her transition into acting in Hollywood hasn’t been smooth at all. She is playing the role of Ariel in the live-action adaptation of Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid.’
In a recent cover story interview for The Face, the 22-year-old artist talked about the racist backlash her casting in the film received. “As a Black person, you just expect it and it’s not really a shock anymore,” she said.
She further added, “I know people are like, ‘It’s not about race.’ But now that I’m her … People don’t understand that when you’re Black there’s this whole other community. It’s so important for us to see ourselves.”
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Bailey Received Trolling On Social Media
After the first look of her character from the film was released last year, Bailey was mercilessly trolled on the internet. Users stated that the character of Mermaid was white in the original film.
The trolling and backlash were racist and hateful in nature. Bailey said one piece of advice given to her and her sister by Beyonce helped her cope with all the negativity on social media.
“When [Chlöe and I] first signed to Parkwood, B (Beyonce) was always like, ‘I never read my comments. Don’t ever read the comments.’ Honestly, when the teaser came out, I was at the D23 Expo and I was so happy. I didn’t see any of the negativity,” she said. The film is slated to release on May 26, 2023.
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