'She's like that proud auntie that claps for you': Beyonce advised Halle Bailey on how to tackle racism after being cast as 'The Little Mermaid'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Who can be a better person to turn to for life-saving advice on surviving Hollywood than Queen Bey herself? Halle Bailey, who is gearing up for a May 26 release of her Disney live-action musical ‘The Little Mermaid’, once revealed that when the casting of her film was announced, she turned to Beyonce for advice.
As it happened, when the vocalist of the R&B duo Chloe x Halle was cast as Ariel in 2019, Disney received tons of flak from the Internet for their colorblind approach toward casting. As the director Rob Marshall zeroed in on ‘The Kids Are Alright’ singer, some of the fans were not in favor of the decision and dissed Halle online. As it can be very traumatizing for a then-18-year-old, she found her real-life fairy godmother in the 'Crazy in Love' singer Beyonce.
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Beyonce, 41, had advised Halle who shared, "I had a private conversation with Beyonce who told me not to read the comments on any social media I post. It's kind of sad - but very good advice for your mental health." Beyonce, who also had the opportunity to do the voiceover for Nala in 2019’s live-action rendition of Disney's ‘The Lion King’, helped the protege with sound advice. "I started in the industry so young that mental health has always been something I have tried to prioritize," Halley said, as per The Sun.
‘She just told me to stand in my power’
"She's always been very, very complimentary and proud of me, and that means the world coming from her, somebody that's been one of my biggest inspirations since I was 3," Halle told Entertainment Weekly in their cover story for ‘The Little Mermaid’, before adding, "She just told me to stand in my power and to not give up and to know that I can do this and believe in myself."
In her May 18 appearance on 'Live with Kelly and Mark', Halle said of the 'Halo' hitmaker, “I just kind of ask for her advice and guidance because you know she's been through this,” before continuing, “Being in the spotlight at a young age and everything but she's just been so supportive of me and my sister.” She added, “She's like that proud Auntie that claps for you and you're doing great stuff so I just love her and I'm really grateful for her.”
The connection between Beyonce and Halle Bailey
The connection between Beyonce and Halle is not a new development as she has known Beyonce since she was three years old. Halle first met Beyonce in 2003 when her elder sister Chloe Bailey played the role of younger Lilly to Beyonce’s adult Lilly in the 2003 film ‘Fighting Temptations’, as per 11 Alive. The grown-up sisters especially caught the attention of the Grammy-winning singer when they covered one of her songs on YouTube.
Beyonce offered them a six-album record deal with her Parkwood Entertainment record label. R&B singer duo Chole X Halle have since then released the albums ‘The Kids Are Alright’ in 2018 and ‘Ungodly Hour’ in 2020. Chloe also went on to release her debut album titled ‘In Pieces’ in March 2023.
In 2018, the sister duo was also part of the opening act of Jay-Z and Beyonce's 'On the Run: 2' tour. Chloe said of the opportunity during that time, “Deep down we always knew somehow some way are dreams would come true some way and we just didn’t know how. And how the power of social media plays into it. Me and my sister write and produce our own music. It’s really cool,” before adding, “We love 'Grown-ish'. We were even able to intertwine our music in the show. We wrote and produced the theme song as well. And even just to be here back in Atlanta doing on the run tour…we are so grateful,” as per 11 Alive.