Halle Bailey starred as Ariel in the live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid. However, the actress faced backlash from fans who were unhappy with the casting. In a recent interview, Bailey revealed how fellow actors came out in support of her amid the controversy.
Bailey thanks industry colleagues for forming “protective bubble” around her amidst online outrage
In an interview with The Independent, the 26-year-old actress revealed that it was a “beautiful experience” to play Ariel in the 2023 Disney film. Notably, she had to weather a lot of r—- and hateful comments ahead of the film’s release.
The outrage stemmed from the fact that Ariel was originally portrayed as a white, red-haired character in the 1989 animated film, and Bailey being a person of color led to online campaigns like #NotMyAriel.
While critics argued that Ariel should remain identical to the animated version, those who came out in her support pointed out that the character is a fictional mermaid, and the race of the Little Mermaid was not mentioned in the original 1837 story by Hans Christian Andersen.
Regardless, as Bailey was right in the thick of the outrage cycle, she mentioned that Zendaya, Rachel Zegler, and Ariana Grande reached out to offer her support during a difficult period in her career.
“Zendaya also reached out, and Ariana Grande was so nice,” Bailey said, adding, “As women, I think we form a little protective bubble around each other, especially when we see a peer going through lots of opinions.”
“We all understand what a vulnerable place it is to be, and at the end of the day, we are young women… we’re self-conscious… we’re insecure. I’m insecure at times, and sometimes the opinions of people can muddy your own thoughts. So it’s special to have a community who’s there to say, ‘You’re amazing. We’re here for you,’” she further stated.
The actress said that the experience taught her to “block out the noise” and trust herself. However, the trend seems to continue with colored actors, as Paapa Essiedu is the latest to face backlash for being cast as Snape in the reimagining of the original Harry Potter franchise by HBO.
Essiedu has also been on the receiving end of r—- comments, but the studio has stayed firm behind the actor, refusing to drop him from the project, which is scheduled to run for a full decade.
Essiedu and Bailey are examples of how online hate surrounding casting controversies can go too far.
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