The Little Mermaid’s Halle Bailey reveals the ‘pressure’ she felt portraying the role of Ariel

Halle Bailey admits she felt under ‘pressure’ to do the best possible job after taking on the iconic role of Ariel in an upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid

The actress, 22, has been a lifelong fan of the 1989 Disney original – based on Hans Christian Andersen’s Danish fairytale – and didn’t want to disappoint fans with her portrayal of the redheaded mermaid.

But her casting sparked an inevitable outcry from a minority of fans, with some claiming she was unsuitable for the role because of her ethnicity.   

She told E! News: ‘I definitely think that because I love this movie so much, and I’ve treasured it since I was a little girl, I did put a bit of pressure on myself.  

‘Just because I want to deliver all of the feels that I saw when I was a little girl.’ 

Under pressure: Halle Bailey has revealed the ‘pressure’ she felt taking on the iconic role of The Little Mermaid’s Ariel in the upcoming live-action remake

The actress also insisted that she gave her ‘110% percent’ to the film and is proud of herself and her performance in the forthcoming adaptation. 

The film, which also stars Jonah Hauer-King, Art Malik, Noma Dumezweni, Javier Bardem and Melissa McCarthy, goes on general release from May 26, 2023.

Just days after the first trailer for movie brought waves of racist trolls out of the woodwork, Halle found support from another big-screen mermaid in Daryl Hannah. 

Big fins to fill: The actress revealed that she had been a fan of the 1989 Disney original and didn't want to disappoint fans with her portrayal of the red headed mermaid

Big fins to fill: The actress revealed that she had been a fan of the 1989 Disney original and didn’t want to disappoint fans with her portrayal of the red headed mermaid

The blonde beauty, 61, played the mermaid Madison in the 1983 smash hit movie Splash, alongside Tom Hanks, and she showed her support for the young actress on Twitter.

‘The little mermaid is black/I met her/there!’ Hannah tweeted along with the hashtag #dontbearacistdork.

The actress’s praise comes just after Jodi Benson – the voice actress who portrayed the original Ariel in the animated classic – showed her support as well.

Original: She said : 'I definitely think that because I love this movie so much, and I've treasured it since I was a little girl, I did put a bit of pressure on myself' (a scene from the original movie pictured)

Original: She said : ‘I definitely think that because I love this movie so much, and I’ve treasured it since I was a little girl, I did put a bit of pressure on myself’ (a scene from the original movie pictured)

Popcorn ready: The film, which also stars Jonah Hauer-King, Art Malik, Noma Dumezweni, Javier Bardem and Melissa McCarthy, with Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, and Awkwafina in voice roles, hits cinemas on May 26, 2023

Popcorn ready: The film, which also stars Jonah Hauer-King, Art Malik, Noma Dumezweni, Javier Bardem and Melissa McCarthy, with Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, and Awkwafina in voice roles, hits cinemas on May 26, 2023

The tweet got over 4.5K retweets and over 42K likes in just under a day after it was posted on Wednesday evening.

Bailey herself hasn’t responded to Hannah, or the original voice of The Little Mermaid, Jodi Benson, 60, who showed her support on her Instagram story.

‘Halle, you were absolutely amazing! ‘I’m SO proud of you & your beautiful performance as Ariel,’ Benson began.

Support: Hannah, 61, played the mermaid Madison in the 1983 smash hit movie Splash, alongside Tom Hanks, and she showed her support for 22-year-old Bailey on Twitter

Support: Hannah, 61, played the mermaid Madison in the 1983 smash hit movie Splash, alongside Tom Hanks, and she showed her support for 22-year-old Bailey on Twitter

Black: 'The little mermaid is black/I met her/there!' Hannah tweeted along with the hashtag #dontbearacistdork

Black: ‘The little mermaid is black/I met her/there!’ Hannah tweeted along with the hashtag #dontbearacistdork

‘It was so wonderful to celebrate with your family here at #d23expo and to the brilliant director, Rob Marshall… 

‘I’m so thankful for our friendship of over 35 years. Thank you for creating such a stunning film!!’

Halle reposted the image to her Instagram Story with the caption: ‘Thank you so much… this means the world to me coming from you! You made Ariel magical for us.’ 

Amazing: 'Halle, you were absolutely amazing! 'I'm SO proud of you & your beautiful performance as Ariel,' Benson began

Amazing: ‘Halle, you were absolutely amazing! ‘I’m SO proud of you & your beautiful performance as Ariel,’ Benson began 

The trailer first debuted at the D23 Expo in Anaheim last weekend, with Variety reporting on Tuesday that the video amassed over 104 million global views.

By comparison, it amassed far more views than many other recent Disney live-action adaptation hits such as Cruella (68 million views), Beauty and the Beast (94 million views), Aladdin (74 million views) and Maleficent 2 (62 million views).

However, the trailer also made headlines for amassing over 2 million ‘dislikes,’ compared to the 865K likes.

The massive number of dislikes has now broken the record of dislikes for a major studio film, surpassing the 1.6 million dislikes for 2016’s Ghostbusters trailer.

Aside from Benson, Bailey got support from other celebs like Zendaya, Halle Berry, Keke Palmer, Ben Platt, Nicki Minaj and Amanda Gorman after the trailer dropped.

Famous friends: Aside from Benson, Bailey got support from other celebs like Zendaya, Halle Berry, Keke Palmer, Ben Platt, Nicki Minaj and Amanda Gorman after the trailer dropped

Famous friends: Aside from Benson, Bailey got support from other celebs like Zendaya, Halle Berry, Keke Palmer, Ben Platt, Nicki Minaj and Amanda Gorman after the trailer dropped

Release: TThe trailer first debuted at the D23 Expo in Anaheim last weekend, with Variety reporting on Tuesday that the video amassed over 104 million global views

Release: TThe trailer first debuted at the D23 Expo in Anaheim last weekend, with Variety reporting on Tuesday that the video amassed over 104 million global views