It really is time for a whole new world.
When it was announced that 19-year-old Halle Bailey was cast as “Ariel” in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid , hate online overshadowed the excitement.
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Thankfully, celebs have been rallying beside Bailey as she deals with the racist trolls.
This includes support from model Winnie Harlow who just dragged a fan in a truly iconic way.
The wait is finally over!
Disney has found its new Ariel for the new live-action remake of The Little Mermaid .
It’s just been announced that the iconic role has gone to 19-year-old Halle Bailey!
“After an extensive search, it was abundantly clear that Halle possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence, and substance — plus a glorious singing voice,” Rob Marshall, the film’s director wrote in a statement.
This is the role of a lifetime for Halle who is known for singing with her sister in the musical duo “Chloe X Halle”.
Not to mention, her role on the TV series Grown-ish .
Since she just became a friggin’ princess, she wasted no time in sharing the exciting news.
Unfortunately, her excitement was met with hesitation from some folks.
At first, some people were confused.
They thought that Halle Berry — as in the 52-year-old actress — was going to play the iconic mermaid.
Not that she wouldn’t totally crush it, tho!
Berry even tweeted out support to the young actress.
Aww, Halle power!
Then, confusion made way for negativity. Ugh. And lots of it.
Some people have become so hung up on the fact that the cartoon version of Ariel is fair-skinned with red hair.
There’s even been people tweeting the hurtful hashtag: “#NotMyAriel”.
It’s time for them to rewatch Disney’s Frozen and “let it gooooooo.”
Thankfully, Halle has gotten support where it counts, like from actress/singer Zendaya.
Zendaya has had to deal with racism before , so she understands what Halle is going through.
Winnie Harlow also sent some love to the star.
The model has vitiligo , a skin condition that causes loss of pigmentation on the skin, resulting in white-ish patches.
Because of this, she, too, understands what it’s like dealing with racism and adversity.
While her post was met with mainly love and support, there was also some hate.
Namely, this user, who had an issue with Ariel not being “what she’s supposed to be.”
Harlow wasn’t having it for a second. She stepped in to defend not only Bailey, but black girls everywhere.
Yass, Winnie!
Just in case her point was clear enough, she also posted this to Instagram stories.
It serves as a reminder that a black woman can and has done a terrific job at playing a Disney princess.
Harlow isn’t the only one to speak up.
Disney’s cable network Freeform also made an Instagram post defending the casting choice. They said, “Yes. The original author of The Little Mermaid was Danish. Ariel…is a mermaid. She lives in an underwater kingdom in international waters and can legit swim wherever she wants (even though that often upsets King Triton, absolute zaddy).”
“But for the sake of argument, let’s say that Ariel, too, is Danish.”
“Danish mermaids can be black because Danish people can be black,” the post read. “Ariel can sneak up to the surface at any time with her pals Scuttle and the ahem Jamaican crab Sebastian (sorry, Flounder!) and keep that bronze base tight. Black Danish people, and this mer-folk, can also genetically (!!!) have red hair.”
“But spoiler alert – bring it back to the top – the character of Ariel is a work of fiction.”
“So 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.”
A lot of people have come to Halle’s defense.
Fans are pointing out that having one of the many white princesses be played by a black actress in this new movie is totally different than having the only other black princess be played by a white actress.
Halle’s got a lot of famous names on her side.
Mariah Carey shared a tweet saying she and her children are excited for “the emancipation of Ariel,” which is a cute reference to Mariah’s iconic album, “The Emancipation of Mimi.”
Janelle Monae is also excited.
Janelle shared this adorable photo of Halle on a beach with red hair, which really highlights just how cute the singer is going to be as Ariel.
Fans also found the humor in the situation.
I, for one, am outraged that I haven’t heard of a single real-life talking crab getting a callback for the role of Sebastian.
And there is already some adorable fan art out there.
Just because there’s a new version of the story coming out, it doesn’t mean the old one goes away — there’s always going to be the cartoon version of Ariel out there for those who are truly bothered by this casting choice.
Frankly, people need to get over it and start getting excited for the live-action version.
Because you know Disney doesn’t disappoint with the live-action remakes.
Plus, c’mon, listen to that voice!
Halle will also be in good company with a star-studded cast for the film.
This includes the rumored possibility of Melissa McCarthy playing Ursula!
Yassss.
So, c’mon, folks: no hate and more excitement!
There’s a whole new world about to hit our screens!
Tell us: will you be watching The Little Mermaid when it hits theatres?
