Halle Bailey is accompanied by her sister Chloe as she is seen for the time since trolls slammed decision to cast her as Ariel in The Little Mermaid
Halle Bailey was seen at an airport in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon.
The 19-year-old actress was accompanied by her 21-year-old sister Chloe, who is her partner in her Chloe X Halle music group, as well as other family members.
This is the first time Halle has been seen since trolls voiced their dissatisfaction over the young star being cast as Ariel in a live-action version of the Disney animated classic The Little Mermaid.
Marching on: Halle Bailey was seen at an airport in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon after the choice to cast her as Ariel in a live action version of The Little Mermaid was announced
Sissy: The 19-year-old actress was accompanied by her 21-year-old sister Chloe, who is her partner in her Chloe X Halle music group
Halle did not seem to be in the best of spirits as she failed to crack a smile while walking alongside Chloe.
The star had on a red Bulls hoodie with a backpack on and white slacks with cream-colored sneakers.
In her hand was a water bottle.
Next to her was Chloe who was also in a red hoodie though she opted for black Nike leggings and beige sneakers.
They have support: The ladies were not alone as they seemed to have at least two family members with them and an attendant who had a cart for their luggage
The ladies were not alone as they seemed to have at least two family members with them and an attendant who had a cart for their luggage.
This sighting comes after there was a backlash with her casting.
The controversy began after people online expressed their distaste about Disney casting a black actress to play the fictitious character, who was portrayed as a red-headed white teen in the 1989 animated feature.
People online demanded that the Mouse House recast the role and the hashtag #NotMyAriel was created.
That sinking feeling: The controversy began after people online expressed their distaste about Disney casting a black actress to play the fictitious character, who was portrayed as a red-headed white teen in the 1989 animated feature
Social media trolls had gone wild with the news that Disney cast an actress who isn't white for the role of Ariel.
Twitter users have even gone as far as trying to prove with science why Ariel — a cartoon character — should be white.
They claimed that according to 'mermaid science,' the mythological creatures are white because they live underwater they have less melanin which gives them a lighter skin color.
Freeform penned an open letter to the 'poor, unfortunate souls' complaining about Bailey's casting.
'Yes. The original author of The Little Mermaid was Danish,' the Freeform post began.
'Ariel…is a mermaid. She lives in an underwater kingdom in international waters and can legit swim wherever she wants (even though that often upsets King Triton, absolute zaddy).
'But for the sake of argument, let's say that Ariel, too, is Danish. Danish mermaids can be black because Danish *people* can be black.'
It was added: 'Ariel can sneak up to the surface at any time with her pals Scuttle and the *ahem* Jamaican crab Sebastian (sorry, Flounder!) and keep that bronze base tight. Black Danish people, and this mer-folk, can also *genetically* (!!!) have red hair,' the open letter continued.
Haters: The network clapped back with a message to educate trolls who wanted Ariel recast because Halle is black in a message that called the 19-year-old starlet 'incredible, sensational, highly-talented and gorgeous'
'But spoiler alert – bring it back to the top – the character of Ariel is a work of fiction. So after all this is said and done, and you still cannot get past the idea that choosing the incredible, sensational, highly-talented, gorgeous Halle Bailey is anything other than the INSPIRED casting that it is because she "doesn't look like the cartoon one," oh boy, do I have some news for you…about you.'
Freeform, which was previously known as ABC Family is owned by The Walt Disney Company.
'After an extensive search, it was abundantly clear that Halle possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence, and substance — plus a glorious singing voice — all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role,' director Rob Marshall said in a statement announcing her casting last week.
In the family: Halle stars on the Freeform show Grown-ish; Freeform is owned by The Walt Disney Company
King of the sea: Terry Crews took to Twitter on Saturday to share a photo shopped picture of himself as King Triton as rumored swirled Melissa McCarthy and Awkwafina were joining the cast
While casting is not yet complete, the movie will also likely see Jacob Tremblay, 12, play Ariel's best bud, Flounder, and Awkwafina, 31, as seagull, Scuttle, appear on screen.
The past week has seen reports reveal that Melissa McCarthy is in talks to play the villain, Ursula.
Meanwhile, actor Terry Crews has started campaigning to play Ariel's father King Triton. He took to Twitter on Saturday to share a photoshopped picture of himself as the mer-man. 'Ariel's Dad!!!! #ArielsGotTerry #AmericasGotTerry,' he said alongside the photo.
