'Let your light shine': Stephanie Mills stands with 'The Little Mermaid' star Halle Bailey amid racist backlash
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Stephanie Mills shared an open letter she sent to Halle Bailey, 23, the star of 'The Little Mermaid', on Facebook ahead of the movie's debut on Friday. Stephanie stood in support of the actress after she faced racist comments online due to her casting as Ariel in 2019.
Mills, who first played Dorothy in the Broadway production of 'The Wiz' in 1975, talked about how she was similarly criticized for playing Dorothy on stage. The actress recalled how she received the "hate mail" as a result.
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'I know what this baby #HalleBailey has been dealing with'
In an open letter that she shared on Facebook and Twitter, Mills wrote, "As a young black girl playing the role as "Dorothy" in 7 times Tony Award-winning Broadway play 'The Wiz'. I know what this baby #HalleBailey has been dealing with. I got so much hate mail," she wrote. The Wiz's initial Broadway production, as per People, earned Mills a Drama Desk Award nomination for her portrayal of Dorothy. According to Playbill, the play won seven Tony Awards in 1975, including Best Musical. Later, in a 1984 revival of The Wiz, Mills returned to the role of Dorothy.
A letter I wrote to the beautiful and talented @HalleBailey who is starring in the @Disney movie #THELITTLEMERMAID. I touch on the similarities I experienced as a young black girl playing Dorothy 50 years ago in #TheWiz on Broadway. So happy for her. #BlackGirlMagic👏🏾👏🏾💐💐 pic.twitter.com/NHWoraHK9l
— Stephanie Mills (@PrettyMill1) May 28, 2023
'I was told Judy Garland 'is turning over in her grave''
"I was told Judy Garland "is turning over in her grave". All because a little black girl was playing a role, that was once played by a white girl," Mills, 66, wrote about the star of the first 'Wizard of Oz movie, which debuted in 1939. "It's sad to see the same thing is happening to this beautiful, talented, smart, and intelligent actress," the actress wrote about Bailey's being subjected to racial criticism. "Halle, God put you in this place and time...So let your light shine. Hold your head up high, walk in your peace, and celebrate the greatness that you are."
'They told me I would never make it'
Mills continued to draw the comparison while expressing her ordeal, "They told me I would never make it on Broadway, they told me I couldn't sing, they told me I was to[o] dark, I have watched and listened to "they" try to tell you why you shouldn't and couldn't. Well, this weekend your movie comes out. lam so proud of you and how you handled all the naysayers. We have never met, however, I have been in your shoes. Baby girl, let them know that this #LittleMermaid is made of Teflon," she concluded.