Trevor Noah said what he said and stands with it. After Disney Plus released the jaw-dropping trailer for The Little Mermaid, critics have been slamming Halle Bailey–who is Black– for playing a fictional character.
Noah defended Bailey by slamming the racist comments in an epic monologue on Thursday’s The Daily Show. He addressed the backlash after it was reported that the Disney Plus trailer for the live-action film received over 1.5 million dislikes while only 900K likes.
Noah said, “Really, people — we’re doing this again?” The news broadcast that covered the segment pointed out that Halle Bailey looks nothing like the animated Ariel with red hair–though the fictional Disney film came out in 1989.
“Once again, a bunch of Internet racists are upset that a fictional character is being played by a Black person,” he continued. “This is so ridiculous.”
“Look, stop being ridiculous,” he said. “It’s imaginary. I hope this scandal doesn’t overshadow the rest of the movie. The Little Mermaid is a beautiful story about a young woman changing her core identity to please a man. Let’s not forget about that, people.”
Chloe Bailey has spoken out in the past over the negative feedback her sister has received, saying it’s important “to have a strong support system around you. It’s hard to carry the weight of the world on your own.”
When the trailer first dropped, Bailey, said it was magical that somebody like her could play a Disney princess.
“The fact that I get to represent all of these little young Black and brown boys and girls who are to come is really special to me because I know that if I had that when I was younger, it would have changed my whole perspective on life.”
While the trolls will continue to troll, Halle has received an outpour of love and support from fans #MyAriel.
The live-action film will hit theaters on May 26, 2023.
