Ever since Grown-ish actress Halle Bailey was announced as the new Ariel in the upcoming The Little Mermaid live-action remake, there have been a lot of haters (racists) trolling her.
But Freeform (the network behind Grown-ish) was *not* having it. They posted an open letter on Instagram to the “poor, unfortunate souls” who were hating on her.
First, they went the factual route, explaining that it is actually possible for a Danish girl to be Black (one of the arguments the haters have made is that her casting is inaccurate in relation to the Danish author’s original book). They wrote,
“For the sake of argument, let’s say that Ariel, too, is Danish. Danish mermaids can be black because Danish *people* can be black. Ariel can sneak up to the surface at any time… and keep that bronze base tight.”
But putting aside all of this nonsense about Halle’s casting being “accurate” or not, the truth remains that Halle is a talented actress and an amazing singer.
Freeform wrote,
“But spoiler alert – bring it back to the top – the character of Ariel is a work of fiction. So after all this is said and done, and you still cannot get past the idea that choosing the incredible, sensational, highly-talented, gorgeous Halle Bailey is anything other than the INSPIRED casting that it is because she ‘doesn’t look like the cartoon one,’ oh boy, do I have some news for you… about you.”
MIC DROP.
