“A process that took almost three years from my first audition to my final day on set”

– Halle Bailey

It’s been two years since the world first learned that Halle Bailey, from the sister duo Chloe x Halle, would be portraying this generation’s role of Disney’s Ariel. This live action remake of The Little Mermaid finally has a release date, after it’s uproar of both negative and celebratory reactions to it’s announcement. This highly anticipated live-action film revealed it’s release date to be May 6 2023. So we won’t be seeing the underwater world of Atlantica just yet.

Prior to this exciting new role, Halle was most known for singing alongside her sister Chloe. The duo were discovered in 2013 after uploading a cover to Beyonce’s “Pretty Hurts”. Reaching 8 million views, Beyonce signed them to her label Parkwood Entertainment. Halle is also famously known for her role as Sky on Freeform’s show Grown–ish. Bailey has also performed live for various Award Shows and music platforms, such as Tiny Desk, and the MTV VMA’s .

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Alongside Bailey as the protagonist Ariel, is Melissa McCarthy playing Ursula. Playing this film’s Prince Eric is British actor Jonah Hauer-King, and the voice acting of Flounder & Sebastian will be played by Jacob Tremblay and Daveed Diggs.

Although this announcement put smiles on the faces of many Disney fans, it also inspired some nasty online backlash. Historically, The Little Mermaid is a story about a mythical mermaid with bright red hair, lighter skin, and a mermaid tail. Within the last few years Disney’s launch of Disney+ made it inevitable for fans to see live-action remakes of their favorite classics. The online backlash featured many white Disney fans stating that the mythical character Ariel should stay white for the re-make.

Social networking platforms did what they do best, falling into the uproar of this announcement. Outraged fans created unattractive and beastly edits (similar to black-face) of what they believe Ariel will look like if Disney follows through with Halle Bailey playing her. Bailey was criticized for her locs and her skin tone, and fans went as far as recording themselves burning away Disney merchandise if she’s casted.

Well, jokes on them! Halle Bailey will be the new The Little Mermaid which will debut in May 2023. Get your popcorn & lets get lost in the sea!

I don’t pay attention to the negativity.

– Halle Bailey