Halle Bailey, a 22 year old Black actress from Mableton, Georgia, has been cast as Ariel in the remake of the classic Disney movie, The Little Mermaid. 

The singer/upcoming actress is one half of the successful Pop/R&B duo, Chloe x Halle. The Bailey sisters rose to fame in 2015, when Beyoncé signed them to her management company after seeing a video on their YouTube channel where they covered her song, Pretty Hurts. 

Together they have acquired a total of 5 Grammy Award nominations, and guest starred on popular shows like Grown-Ish, but The Little Mermaid will be the younger Bailey sister’s first big acting role, and most impactful.

“I know what it would have meant to me as a little girl to have been able to see a Black Ariel when I was younger. If I would have seen that, it would have changed my whole outlook on life,” Bailey said in a Q&A about playing Ariel on her YouTube channel.

The announcement of a live action remake of such a popular movie is exciting news on its own for many, and although the film doesn’t hit theaters until Spring of 2023, Bailey’s role as a Black woman playing Ariel has already sparked an intense debate. 

Historically, Disney doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to quality representation for the Black community. The entertainment company came under heavy fire when their movie, Soul, was released in 2020, and viewers started to notice a pattern of Disney movies featuring Black main characters turning into non-humans and remaining that way for a majority of the movie. The movies Spies (2019), and The Princess and the Frog (2009), are two other examples of this instance – the main character of Spies, Lance Sterling, is transformed into a pigeon, and Tiana, Disney’s first ever Black leading character, is turned into a frog and remains that way for most of her scenes in the film.

Controversy aside, the movie is highly anticipated among most, and Black students at Niles North have decided to voice their opinion about Halle Bailey’s role in The Little Mermaid.

“I think that it’s great Ariel is being played by a Black woman, it gives representation to kids that look like her, and the joy and inspiration it will give is going to be outstanding,” senior Kyla Henderson said.