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Here’s A Bunch Of Gorgeous Fan Art Celebrating Halle Bailey As Ariel In ‘The Little Mermaid’

It’s been a wild week for Halle Bailey. After the Chloe x Halle singer and Grownish actor was cast as Ariel in Disney’s upcoming live action remake of The Little Mermaid, people reacted…well…strongly. 

Bailey announced her new role in tweet featuring a picture of a darker-skinned Ariel—an image designed by Dylan Bonner in 2005 for his girlfriend’s Valentine’s Day gift. Bailey said that playing Ariel was a “dream come true.” 

Bailey, who can sing and act, seems like a fantastic choice for the role. But as soon as her casting was announced, the hashtag #NotMyAriel started trending, with traumatized white folks lamenting that a woman of color should not be playing their beloved mermaid. 

Halle Bailey
Getty Images

Countering the racist outrage, fans of both Bailey and The Little Mermaid (including the original Ariel, Jodi Benson)—along with Disney-owned channel Freeform— have been flooding social media with support and enthusiasm. Fan art has been popping up, with artists sharing their renditions of the new Ariel. 

Many of the artists, who are women of color, explained how meaningful it was for them to finally feel represented. 

“Coming from someone who spent her entire childhood longing for a princess who looked like her, I think @disney made an AMAZING casting choice,” wrote Brianna Sanford alongside her picture of Ariel. 

“I always thought she would have locs,” artist Vashti Harrison tweeted with her artwork. 

Other artists included both the original Ariel and the new Ariel hugging, holding hands, or playing with each other’s hair in their images, conveying the bond between the two. 

“No need to hate on either,” wrote artist Carlos Grommo. 

1. Artist Serena (Whiskermoon)

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Whiskermoon (@whiskermoons) on

2. Artist Alice X. Zhang

3. Artist Dominic Bustamante

4. Artist Diego Candia Cobian

5. Artist Lady Nefertiti

6. Artist Andre Manguba

7. Artist Carlos Gromo

8. Artist @wadagrl

https://twitter.com/wadagrl/status/1148705696751529984

9. Artist Nicole Graham

https://twitter.com/NicoleGrahamART/status/1148523772472889344

10. Artist Hannah Holden

11. Artist Lucy Blowing

https://twitter.com/lucyalexb/status/1147264386140114945

12. Artist Vashti Harrison

https://twitter.com/VashtiHarrison/status/1146572273425485827

13. Artist Darko Dordevic

14. Artist Marina Dutra

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Marina Dutra (@mechanictress) on

15. Artist Olga Adriyenko

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Olga “AsuROCKS” Andriyenko (@asurelle) on

 

16. Artist Nilah Magruder

https://twitter.com/nilaffle/status/1146650116020789248

17. Artist Hayden Williams

https://twitter.com/Hayden_Williams/status/1146850145050517505

18. Artist Brianna Sanford

19. Artist Denver Balbaboco

20. Artist Paulette Sorhaindo

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzt67YfF87Y/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Patricia Grisafi

Patricia Grisafi, PhD, is a freelance writer and educator. Her work has appeared in Salon, Vice, Bitch, Bustle, Broadly, The Establishment, and elsewhere. She is passionate about pit bull rescue, cursed objects, and designer sunglasses.