Walt Disney animated movies have been a large part of my childhood, which is why when I found out a few years ago that Disney had plans for a live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, I was highly intrigued. In July 2019, Disney announced that 22 year-old singer and actress Halle Bailey was chosen to play the role of Ariel in the remake. This announcement would go on to be a viral topic of discussion all over social media for the next three years.

When it was first announced that Halle Bailey, an African American woman, would be playing the role of Ariel in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, the news was met with a variety of reactions. I, along with many others, was very excited. I was thrilled, not only because I knew how talented Halle Bailey was and that she would do a great job, but also because of how much it meant to me to see a Black woman play one of my favorite Disney princesses. However, there were folks who were upset about this very fact and took to social media to express their frustration. People expressed that they were not happy that a Black woman would be portraying a character that had historically been written as white and a red-head. Tweets stating that Bailey was not the right choice for the role were being shared, and hashtags such as “#NotMyAriel” and “#NotMyMermaid” began to circulate.

Fast forward to Sept. 2022, when Disney recently released the teaser trailer for The Little Mermaid remake–which comes out in May 2023–and comments criticizing Bailey’s role as Ariel are back. The hashtag “#NotMyAriel” returned to social media, while the trailer received more than 1.5 million dislikes on Youtube.

People who have been attacking the choice of Bailey as the new Ariel have been attempting to use several arguments to support their frustrations. Some of these arguments include claims that Ariel being black would not be accurate to the original story or that it would ruin childhoods. One argument that stood out to me stated that it would not make sense for a Black woman to play the role of a mermaid because due to the fact that they live under the sea, it wouldn’t be “scientifically” accurate for mermaids to have dark skin. To this I say: this is a movie about a fictional mermaid. I repeat, a fictional mermaid.

In my opinion, as a Black woman, there is no question that many of the attacks on Bailey being cast as Ariel are rooted in racism. Bailey is not taking away from the story of The Little Mermaid by playing Ariel. Ariel’s story can be told just as accurately whether or not she is played by a white character, so I cannot comprehend why people are upset other than because of the simple fact that Bailey is Black.

Amidst all the backlash however, it is also important to recognize the positive reactions that are taking the internet by storm. Across platforms such as Tiktok, Instagram and Twitter, videos of children watching the teaser trailer for the remake and reacting to Bailey as Ariel have been going viral. In these videos, many kids (and even adults) are seen smiling, cheering and crying as they realize that their new Ariel is Black. I, personally, have been watching these videos almost non-stop and they have brought me nothing but joy. I have cried several times watching different videos, all depicting the same thing: the importance of representation. I can not emphasize enough how important it is for Black girls, especially little ones, to feel represented in movies and television. There were not enough Black girls on my TV screen when I was a little girl and there still aren’t. But having a Black woman play an iconic Disney princess is a big step towards inclusive representation, and I am so glad little Black girls get to see themselves portrayed that way.