Halle Bailey shares facing racist reactions for ‘The Little Mermaid’

Los Angeles: Halle Bailey finally opened up about working on ‘The Little Mermaid’ remake and how she insulated herself from racist reactions.

While on the press tour for her latest film, ‘You, Me & Tuscany’, the American singer-actress told ‘The Independent’ that ‘The Little Mermaid’ was ‘a beautiful experience’ for her despite facing online harassment by racist trolls.

“It was actually freeing to be in the middle of this conversation where so many different opinions were coming in and they were so opposite from one another… I felt like I was watching myself inside a cup, seeing how people react to it. Growing up in the industry can really develop your sense of self and for me, it keeps me grounded in a way. I know for some people it’s the opposite, but I just always think to myself, ‘None of this is real’,” she said.

The 2023 live-action of Disney’s popular animated film had received much criticism from racist fans who were furious over a Black actor portraying Ariel. However, just before the film's theatre release, Bailey told ‘The Face’ that ‘as a Black person you just expect’ the racist antagonism and ‘it’s not really a shock anymore’.

Bailey’s upcoming romantic comedy film ‘You, Me & Tuscany’, co-starring ‘Bridgerton’ actor Rege-Jean Page and directed by Kat Coira, is set for release on April 10.