Halle Bailey finally showed fans part of her world with the first picture of her as Ariel in Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.
The Ungodly Hour singer shared a sneak peek of herself at the golden hour while the singer-actresses splashed in the waters and reflected on her experience filming the Disney princess reboot.
“And just like that..that’s a wrap,” she wrote on Twitter Monday (July 12). “After auditioning for this film when i was 18 just about to turn 19 , to now finishing filming through a pandemic when i turned 21 ..we have finally made it… i feel so grateful to have experienced this film in all of its glory..”
Her sister and other half of Chloe x Halle, Chloe Bailey, replied to Halle’s photo, “my baby!!!!!!! i love you!!!!!!!” before sharing a touching photo of the two siblings hugging in the water. “I love you so much and i am SO PROUD OF YOU my halle,” she captioned the picture.
The grown-ish actress’ casting in the lead role in the live-action remake was first announced two years ago in July 2019. “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,” said director Rob Marshall in a statement, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
Jodi Benson, the voice behind Disney’s original Ariel in the 1989 animated princess film, defended Bailey when racist backlash surfaced online over a Black woman’s casting for the role. “I think the most important thing is to tell the story,” Benson said at Florida Supercon in 2019. “We have, as a family, raised our children and for ourselves that we don’t see anything that’s different on the outside. I think that the spirit of a character is what really matters. What you bring to the table in a character as far as their heart and their spirit is what really counts.”
See Halle as Ariel, and Chloe’s reaction:
