Freeform slams critics of 'The Little Mermaid' casting Halle Bailey: 'It's a work of fiction'

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Many "The Little Mermaid" fans are slamming Disney for casting singer Halle Bailey as the new Ariel, and some people have finally had enough of the negativity.

Disney last week officially announced that Bailey would be stepping into the iconic mermaid role, which was met with both overwhelming praise and heavy criticism on social media — the latter bothered that Ariel would not be played by a natural Danish redhead.

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The hashtag #NotMyAriel was a trending topic on Twitter shortly after the initial announcement, which in turn outraged many celebrities on the social platform.

The cable network Freeform, which is owned by Disney, wrote an "open letter to the Poor, Unfortunate Souls" on Instagram, shutting down critics of Bailey's casting. The letter says that while the original story of "The Little Mermaid" was written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, the mermaid Ariel herself is not explicitly described as Danish.

"Ariel... is a mermaid," the network wrote. "She lives in an underwater kingdom in international waters and can legit swim wherever she wants."

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The channel went on to write that even if Ariel were to be of Danish heritage, she could still have black skin and her signature red hair. They ended their letter by declaring that "Ariel is a work of fiction" and noted that criticizing the casting is indicative of one's prejudice.

"So after all this is said and done, and you still cannot get past the idea that choosing the incredible, sensational, highly-talented, gorgeous Halle Bailey is anything other than the INSPIRED casting that it is because she 'doesn't look like the cartoon one,' Oh boy, do I have some news for you...about you," Freeform wrote.

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Despite the outrage, many users on social media stood behind Bailey, even creating new fan art of Ariel inspired by the casting.

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"The Little Mermaid" is set for release in 2020, with Bailey starring alongside previously-announced stars Awkwafina as Scuttle and Jacob Tremblay as Flounder.