“Snow White” actress Rachel Zegler speaks out on the casting controversy of Halle Bailey in “The Little Mermaid”
Rachel Zegler of Disney’s upcoming live-action movie “Snow White” defended Halle Bailey amid “The Little Mermaid” casting controversy.
Amid the controversy over the casting of Disney’s live-action film “The Little Mermaid” involving actress Halle Bailey, actress Rachel Zegler, who has received similar criticism over her being cast as Snow White, has directly responded to a negative comment on the situation.
When Rachel Zegler was confirmed to play Snow White in Disney’s live-action film of the same name that is scheduled to be released in 2024, controversy arose online as to why a Latino actress was selected for the role of Snow White, a character represented by her white skin.
The controversy is very similar to the situation of “The Little Mermaid” where Disney sparked mixed reactions by casting Halle Bailey, a black actress, as Ariel, a character who is white in the 1989 Disney Animation Studios’ “The Little Mermaid”.
On September 20, Rachel Zegler left a direct reply to a netizen’s post criticizing Disney’s casting of Halle Bailey on Twitter.
The netizen told Disney, “I actually think that Rachel Zegler is a good choice for the role of Snow White because she looks just like her. But Halle Bailey is #NotMyAriel. She can be the Little Mermaid on Broadway if she wishes, but not in a movie.”
Rachel Zegler then gave a strong response, saying, “If you don’t support my girl Halle, who is the perfect Ariel, you don’t support any of us.”
Rachel Zegler has never worked with Halle Bailey, but they met at the Met Gala last year. At the time, Zegler shared a photo she took with Bailey, saying, “She (Halle Bailey) is a wonderful woman. We should do an Ariel/Snow White crossover.”
Meanwhile, the number of dislikes on the trailer for “The Little Mermaid” has exceeded 2.7 million. The number of likes is 1.15 million, meaning that the trailer has generated more negative than positive reactions.
As the public’s dissatisfaction with the casting of Halle Bailey surged, many entertainment industry officials have shown support for her.
On September 14, actress Daryl Hannah, who played a mermaid in the 1984 film “Splash”, tweeted, “The little mermaid is black. I met her.” and told people to stop their racist accusations.
Actress Jodi Benson, who voiced Ariel in the animated version of “The Little Mermaid”, said on Instagram, “Halle, you were absolutely amazing. I’m so proud of you and your beautiful performance as Ariel.”
Filming for “The Little Mermaid” finished on the Italian island of Sardinia in July of last year and the movie is scheduled to be released on May 26, 2023.
Source: insight
