Halle Berry Hilariously Weighs In On The Little Mermaid Confusion Over Halle Bailey
Beloved Disney classics like "Mulan," "Cinderella," and "Beauty & The Beast" all came out decades ago, but that hasn't stopped the platform from remaking its animated classics in recent years. And because Disney doesn't do things halfway, the films featured A-listers like Emma Watson (Belle), Beyoncé (the voice of Nala), and Lily James (Cinderella). While these casting choices were largely met with approval — in particular, people felt that Watson made the perfect real-life Belle — nothing made a splash like Disney's 2019 announcement of the live action remake of "The Little Mermaid."
News that everyone's favorite red-headed mermaid would be played by Black actor Halle Bailey was met with backlash from fans who expected Ariel to be played by a white star, per Variety. But to her credit, Bailey has tuned out the critics. In the interview, she accredited her family for reminding her of how impactful her portrayal of a Black Disney princess would be. "It was an inspiring and beautiful thing to hear [my grandparents'] words of encouragement, telling me, 'You don't understand what this is doing for us, for our community, for all the little Black and brown girls who are going to see themselves in you,'" she said.
Bailey's portrayal of Ariel is another giant step for representation, but it hasn't stopped fans from confusing her for another Black star: Halle Berry. As it turns out, enough people are missing the distinction between "Bailey" and "Berry" that the "Monsters Ball" star decided to speak up.
Here's how Hally Berry responds to the Halle Bailey confusion
Twitter is a messy place, and it's not unusual for users to mix up each other's names. In the wake of the new trailer for "The Little Mermaid" making its rounds on the Internet, one user mistook Halle Bailey for Halle Berry. "Halle Berry is nearly 60 playing the role of a 16-year-old girl," the person wrote in a since-deleted tweet (via Buzzfeed). "This is what happens when you upset a fandom." Berry apparently saw tweet, because she posted her reaction: a meme of comedian Monique looking unimpressed.
To be fair to the original Twitter user, they aren't the only ones to make this mistake. "HALLE BERRY IS ARIEL SUCK ON THAT," another excited person tweeted, reposting Disney's teaser trailer. Someone else made light of their own confusion, writing, "I spent the last four hours thinking Halle Berry was the new Ariel and feeling very puzzled by the choice, nope I just can't read." In December 2021, Berry replied to another user who tweeted, "Cant wait to see you under da sea," via Us Weekly, to which Berry replied, "Wrong Halle lol."
Despite the social media confusion, Berry and others are excited to see Bailey swim her way into our hearts when the film hits Disney+. From fans expressing what it means to see a Black woman in the role of their favorite Disney princess to those lauding her singing chops, there's been an outpouring of support for the "Grown-ish" actor and more will surely be on the way.