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Late last year Disney revealed that Halle Bailey would be the new actor to take on the popular role of Ariel, and (as these things go) there were mixed reactions. Some fans embraced the Grown-ish actress and backed her to put on an amazing performance, and some didn’t like the idea of her being Ariel. Let me tell you why. It’s because she is black.
In a bid to be more inclusive of people of color, the movie industry has been opening up more crucial roles to black, brown, and even Asian actors and actresses. This also means that some comic book characters or characters in a book or old animated movies have been rebooted, and had their races changed. Mostly from white characters to black characters. Ariel is one of the latest additions to that list, and some fans are not liking the idea in the slightest.
Well, for those “fans” who have a problem with Halle Bailey being Ariel, I’ll tell you this. She is a beautiful woman, with a beautiful voice, and an amazing actress, and she is here to stay. If you want white Ariel, you can go watch the animated movies from years ago. There is nothing wrong with changing Hollywood characters, whether from old comic books or cartoons, or novels, that were mostly white (if not all white) to different races. An industry that was predominantly white for the longest time before the inclusion of black, brown, and Asian characters and actors.
In an industry that has been predominantly white from the start, and only started being more receptive to people of color over the past couple of years, it shouldn’t be that much of a problem to change one Disney princess’s race.
It is time for some diversity, time for some black excellence. And that is exactly what Halle Bailey will bring to the table, come May 27. If you really are a “real fan”, you would support and watch the movie, as well as any other movie, regardless of what race of actor is at the forefront of it.