A young black singer-actress will be playing the role of Ariel in Disney’s latest remake of film classic The Little Mermaid, which filming is set to start in early 2020. 

19-year-old Halle Bailey rose to fame on YouTube, where she and her older sister Chloe posted videos of them covering Beyoncé songs. 

The videos were noticed and got both signed to Beyoncé’s record label and into acting roles. 

Disney's remake will be directed by Rob Marshall, who said: “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.”

Some critics, however, have stirring controversy by inquiring why a black actress was chosen for the role rather than someone who matched the Ariel of the 1989 cartoon. Some social media users even began using the hashtag #NotMyAriel to express their displeasure with the casting choice.

The idea behind Disney’s choice was to breathe new life into the old classic, knowing that casting a young woman of colour will resonate with millions of girls who have only seen one black princess in Disney history, Princess Tiana. 


Halle maintained a positive attitude as she turned to Twitter to announce that being given the role was a “dream come true.”

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