Keep Up With Global Black News

Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest updates and events from the leading Afro-Diaspora publisher straight to your inbox.

Fans celebrate Halle Bailey’s Little Mermaid role which makes her the second black Disney princess in history

Avatar photo
by Mildred Europa Taylor, 12:30pm July 04, 2019,
African-American singer Halle Bailey has been cast in Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of "The Little Mermaid."

Black Girl Magic is in full swing as African-American singer Halle Bailey has been cast in Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid.”

The 19-year-old Chloe x Halle member will be the second black woman to portray a Disney Princess, following in the footsteps of Brandy Norwood in 1997’s Cinderella.

Walt Disney Studios announced the casting decision Wednesday, and fans have since expressed joy at seeing a woman of colour in the lead role.

Bailey and her 21-year-old sister, Chloe, who make up the music group Chloe x Halle, first gained acclaim by posting YouTube covers of Beyoncé before they were later discovered by the R&B singer and her record label.

Image result for halle bailey and chloe
Chloe and Halle. Pic credit: Austin & Ally Wiki – Fandom

The sisters opened up for Beyoncé in 2017 for part of her Formation World Tour and released their first studio album, “The Kids Are Alright,” in 2018.

Bailey, who also stars in the Freeform series “Grown-ish”, will now play the role of the mermaid princess Ariel as she seeks to fall in love with a human prince on land.

She shared the news in a tweet on Wednesday and described the casting a ‘dream come true.’

https://twitter.com/chloexhalle/status/1146509551497170944

Bailey is joining a cast that includes Jacob Tremblay and Awkwafina, while Melissa McCarthy is in talks to play Ursula, according to Variety. The film, directed by Rob Marshall, is expected to be released in 2020.

It will incorporate classic songs such as “Under the Sea”, “Part of Your World” and “Poor Unfortunate Souls”, as well as, new music from Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

“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 – all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role,” Marshall said.

Image result for halle bailey
Halle Bailey. Pic credit: Entertainment Weekly

In recent years, Disney has been investing in live-action remakes for several of its classic films, including “Beauty and the Beast”, “Aladdin,” and “The Lion King.”

Bailey’s role has been hailed by many people on social media who are satisfied with the decision to introduce more diverse princesses in Disney films. A few are, however, not pleased that a Black woman is playing a fictional white mermaid.

Here are some of the reactions:

https://twitter.com/SelG_Stan/status/1146692911045545989
https://twitter.com/dolansxteeth/status/1146714721048915969
https://twitter.com/slightbitter_/status/1146747621882703872
https://twitter.com/classicalbookwo/status/1146777228497362944
https://twitter.com/thewindfall/status/1146627869063311362

Last Edited by:Ismail Akwei Updated: July 4, 2019

Conversations

Must Read

Connect with us

Join our Mailing List to Receive Updates

Face2face Africa | Afrobeatz+ | BlackStars

Keep Up With Global Black News and Events

Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest updates and events from the leading Afro-Diaspora publisher straight to your inbox, plus our curated weekly brief with top stories across our platforms.

No, Thank You