You can set your watch to the reactions of bigoted shitheels. It's not exactly surprising how punctual they are with their terrible opinions anytime a person of color does anything. Fortunately, that reliability means they can be planned for, and the world was ready when they came for Halle Bailey after she was cast as the lead in The Little Mermaid.
The Chloe X Halle star's casting in the upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid caused at least one troll to go viral with a video of herself chucking a copy of the original film in the trash. The user got dunked into oblivion, with Twitter users tearing into her until the app itself swooped in to suspend her account.
Another troll tried to use science to prove why mermaids, which happen to be mythical creatures, are white.
Diana Huey, the Asian-American actress who played Ariel in the touring production of The Little Mermaid, suffered her fair share of racist backlash and came to the aid of Halle in a post on Instagram. She said that the supporters far outweigh the trolls.
"When I had the honor to flipping’ my fins as Ariel for a year in the national tour of Disney’s THE LITTLE MERMAID, I, as an actor of color, was met with a lot of adversity and upset from people. But more importantly, I was showered with an overwhelming outpouring of love, support and messages of hope and inspiration from people across the globe," she wrote. "I had Broadway’s OG Ariel, @officialsierraboggess, stand by me, and now, I pass the torch and stand by Halle Bailey. Isn’t Ariel’s entire message about finding where she belongs, where she is her truest self, and where she feels full and accepted? Halle is going to make a beautiful Ariel, a powerful Ariel and an inspiring Ariel and I am so excited to watch her change the world with her performance."
