Halle Bailey has drawn a lot of praise from filmgoers and critics with her performance as Ariel in Disney’s new version of The Little Mermaid, but her casting has not gone without some criticism from a small but vocal group of people online. Even long before the first teaser trailer had been released, revealing our first peek at Bailey in the role, the social media backlash was present. Some have blasted the casting as “woke,” suggesting that Bailey was only cast due to her skin color and some kind of agenda from the filmmakers. These social media critics have been boycotting the film as well by trying to popularize the hashtag #NotMyAriel.
Someone who understands exactly what Bailey has gone through with this situation is Stephanie Mills. A Black actress, Mills was cast as Dorothy nearly five decades ago for The Wiz, a Broadway show adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. Because she remembers the cruel comments and other ways she’d been harassed because of the casting, Mills wrote a letter to Bailey which she has also released on Twitter for everyone else to read as well.
“I know what this baby Halle Bailey has been dealing with,” Mill’s letter says in part. “I got so much hate mail, I was told Judy Garland ‘is turning over in her grave.’ All because a little Black girl was playing a role, that was once played by a white girl. It’s sad to see the same thing is happening to this beautiful, talented, smart, and intelligent actress. Halle, God put you in this place and time… So let your light shine. Hold your head up high, walk in your peace, and celebrate the greatness that you are.”
Reflecting on how people todl her she would “never make it” on Broadway because she was too dark, only for her to prove everyone wrong, Mills also noted, “I am so proud of how you handled all the naysayers. We have never met, however I have been in your shoes. Baby girl, let them know that this Little Mermaid is made of teflon.”
The letter in full can be viewed below.
The Little Mermaid Swims to Success
The naysayers had been suggesting that The Little Mermaid would be a complete failure, feeling that confident that changing the skin color of Ariel would have a disastrous effect on the film’s success. The opposite is ringing true, however, as The Little Mermaid has made a big splash at the box office upon release. It’s looking to bank around $118 million for the Memorial Day weekend, numbers that will make Disney very happy. It also has been pulling in high audience scores, which would suggest that the critics are far outnumbered by those who’ve been loving Ariel in the film.
The Little Mermaid is now playing in movie theaters. Along with Halle Bailey as Ariel, the film stars Melissa McCarthy, Jonah Hauer-King, Javier Bardem, Awkwafina, Daveed Diggs, and Jacob Tremblay.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
