Halle Bailey Talks 'The Little Mermaid' Backlash & Having A Forever Best Friend In Sister Chlöe

Halle Bailey won our hearts alongside her sister Chlöe when their cover of Beyoncé’s “Pretty Hurts” went viral when they were just teenagers, and from there they have become Grammy-nominated artists as the group Chloe x Halle thanks to albums like Ungodly Hour and The Kids Are Alright. Now, their fans have more to look forward to as Halle will be starring as the Disney princess Ariel in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.

While the news of the 22-year-old playing Ariel warmed the hearts of little Black girls everywhere, not everyone was so supportive. Unfortunately, Halle’s casting was met with racist backlash because she didn’t look like the cartoon character and there was even a hashtag, #NotMyAriel, created in response to it online.

In an interview with Variety, Halle shared that her family, namely her grandparents helped her deal with the criticism. “It was an inspiring and beautiful thing to hear their words of encouragement, telling me, ‘You don’t understand what this is doing for us, for our community, for all the little Black and brown girls who are going to see themselves in you,’” she shared.

Her big sister Chlöe was also on hand to lend support when dealing with the haters and she talked about being there for Halle. “It’s important to have a strong support system around you,” Chlöe said in the interview. “It’s hard to carry the weight of the world on your own.”

When it came to Chlöe and Halle, you hardly saw one without the other but over the last year and a half, they began venturing into separate projects. Chlöe has been working on her solo debut album but she is always there for Halle as Halle is always there for her.

“My sister is my backbone,” she said. “She’s my best friend. She’s my everything. When I write with her, it’s different than when I’m just alone. When we sing together, I feel differently than when I’m just singing by myself.”

Playing Ariel is incredibly special for the “Do It” singer because she grew up watching the Disney classic and identified with Ariel’s story. She hopes that her take on Ariel will also resonate with girls watching it.

“I want the little girl in me and the little girls just like me who are watching to know that they’re special, and that they should be a princess in every single way,” she explained. “There’s no reason that they shouldn’t be. That reassurance was something that I needed.”

The Little Mermaid is set to premiere in May 2023.

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Featured image by Jon Kopaloff/WireImage