Halle Bailey Addresses Racist Backlash To ‘Little Mermaid’ Casting: ‘As A Black Person, You Just Expect It’

etcanada.com:

When Disney announced Halle Bailey had been cast as Ariel in its live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid”, the Chloe x Halle singer was slammed with racist backlash by those who unable to wrap their heads around a Black woman playing a character depicted as white in the animated classic.

In a new cover story for The Face, Bailey admitted that while the racist comments were hurtful, they were not unanticipated. “As a Black person, you just expect it and it’s not really a shock anymore,” she said. READ MORE: ‘The Little Mermaid’ New Teaser: Halle Bailey Enchants As Ariel, First Look At Melissa McCarthy As Ursula “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,” she continued. “It’s so important for us to see ourselves.” According to Bailey, advice she and her sister Chloe Bailey received from mentor Beyoncé (whom she refers to by her nickname, B) has helped her ignore the negativity. “When [Chlöe and I] first signed to Parkwood, B 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,” Bailey added.