Halle Berry or Halle Bailey? Live-action 'Little Mermaid' casting has fans confused
If you initially misread news that the star of Disney's upcoming live-action remake of "The Little Mermaid" would be Halle Berry instead of Halle Bailey, you're not alone.
To be clear: The upcoming reboot will star 19-year-old Bailey, part of the R&B duo Chloe x Halle. Not Berry, the 52-year-old Academy Award winner. But that mishap led to some pretty funny self-deprecating tweets, as fans joked about their inability to read properly.
"I did keep reading Halle Bailey as Halle Berry so for the last 6 hours I was like okay we stan a 52 year old Ariel," one user wrote. (Disney's animated mermaid is supposed to be 16 years old, for the record.)
I did keep reading Halle Bailey as Halle Berry so for the last 6 hours I was like okay we stan a 52 year old Ariel
— Julia Claire (@ohJuliatweets) July 4, 2019
"My last two brain cells reading Halle Bailey as Halle Berry," another captioned a video of Lady Gaga and Cardi B struggling to speak.
my last two brain cells reading Halle Bailey as Halle Berry pic.twitter.com/BZKRJlJ5WY
— Frank Costa (@feistyfrank) July 3, 2019
Another shared a GIF from "The Simpsons," in which a character unironically says "Me fail English? That's unpossible!"
Every time I read Halle Bailey as Halle Berry pic.twitter.com/Pom5MPZzcY
— Shanakin Skywalker (@ShannonLoJones) July 4, 2019
One fan joked that Berry might have checked social media to see "her name trending, thinking she got cast as Ariel."
Halle Berry logging into Twitter seeing her name trending thinking she got cast as Ariel pic.twitter.com/NuBDA30otx
— Defsouf (@jmsmith1906) July 3, 2019
Berry actually did chime in online later, sending Bailey well-wishes.
"In case you needed a reminder... Halles get it DONE," Berry tweeted Wednesday. "Congratulations @chloexhalle on this amazing opportunity, we can’t wait to see what you do!"
In case you needed a reminder... Halles get it DONE. Congratulations @chloexhalle on this amazing opportunity, we can’t wait to see what you do! #TheLittleMermaid #HalleBailey pic.twitter.com/z0Rik2nxRe
— Halle Berry (@halleberry) July 3, 2019
Director Rob Marshall said in a Disney release that Bailey was the one chosen to play the part following an "extensive search."
"It was abundantly clear that Halle possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence and substance — plus a glorious singing voice — all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role," said Marshall.
Jodi Benson voiced the character in the 1989 original, directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. The animated film won Oscars for best original song ("Under the Sea") and score for Alan Menken. For the new movie, Menken will team with Lin-Manuel Miranda on the music.
Contributing: Bryan Alexander
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Disney's 'Little Mermaid' remake: Halle Berry lauds star Halle Bailey