Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy are joined by director Rob Marshall as they walk the red carpet for the the Australian premiere of The Little Mermaid on Monday (May 22) in Sydney, Australia.
The 23-year-old singer/actress stars as Ariel in the live-action movie while the 52-year-old actress stars as Ursula. Director Rob Marshall gave his thoughts on how the media responded to Halle Bailey being cast as Ariel. “I didn’t think that it was a big deal, casting a woman of color,” Rob said. Keep reading to find out more…“I thought, that’s an archaic way to see the world.
When that controversy arose, from narrow-minded people,” he told Deadline. “I thought, wow, that really feels like it’s coming from another century.
Are we really still there? But the bonus that came with that casting, and I wasn’t aware of it at the time, is seeing these young girls of color and young boys of color looking at her and thinking, wow, I’m represented.
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