Halle Bailey has addressed racist backlash to the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.
After Disney executives announced in 2019 that the Grown-ish actress would star as Ariel in their new version of the story, Halle was the target of negative comments online - particularly in relation to her being a Black woman and portraying a character depicted as white in the original 1989 animated film.
While speaking to The Face for a recent interview, Halle admitted that the criticism was expected.
"As a Black person, you just expect it and it's not really a shock anymore," she said of racist trolling. "I know people are like, 'It's not about race.' But now that I'm her... People don't understand that when you're Black there's this whole other community."
Halle continued, "It's so important for us to see ourselves."
The actress also shared advice she and her sister Chlöe Bailey received from Beyoncé when the superstar mentored the pair - referring to the pop icon by her nickname, B.
"When (Chlöe and I) first signed to Parkwood, B was always like, 'I never read my comments. Don't ever read the comments,'" the 22-year-old recalled. "Honestly, when the teaser came out, I was at the D23 Expo and I was so happy. I didn't see any of the negativity."
The Little Mermaid is slated for release in May.
