Halle Bailey admits she felt “pressured” to do her best after taking on the iconic role of Ariel in the upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.
The actress, 22, is a lifelong fan of the 1989 Disney original based on the Danish fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen and didn’t want to disappoint fans with her portrayal of the red-haired mermaid.
But her casting caused the inevitable outrage from a minority of fans, with some claiming she was unsuitable for the role due to her ethnicity.
Halle told a News source, ‘I definitely think because I love this movie so much, and I’ve admired it since I was a little girl, I did put a bit of pressure on myself. ‘Just because I want to deliver all of the feelings that I saw and felt when I was a little girl.’
The actress also insists that she gave her ‘110% percent to the film and is proud of herself and her performance in the upcoming adaptation.
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Is Here how some of the Actors Supported Halle Bailey on Twitter.
The film, which also stars Jonah Hauer King, Art Malik, Noma Dumezweni, Javier Bardem, and Melissa McCarthy, goes on a general release on May 26, 2023. Just days after the first trailer for the movie brought waves of racist trolls out of the woodwork, Halle found support from another big-screen mermaid in Daryl Hannah.
The blonde beauty, 61, played mermaid Madison in the 1983 hit Splash alongside Tom Hanks and showed her support for the young actress on Twitter.” The little mermaid is black, I met her!” Hannah tweeted along with the hashtag #dontbearacistdork.
The actress’ praise comes just after Jodi Benson, the voice actress who portrayed the original Ariel in the animated classic also showed her support. The tweet received more than 4,500 retweets and more than 42,000 likes in less than a day after it was posted on Wednesday night.
Bailey herself did not respond to Hannah, nor did the original voice of The Little Mermaid, Jodi Benson, 60, show her support on her Instagram story. “Halle, you are absolutely amazing! “I am so proud of you and your beautiful performance as Ariel,” Benson began.
