Chloe Bailey defends Halle Bailey’s casting in ‘The Little Mermaid’

Sister-singing duo, and Beyoncé protégés, Chloe x Halle have a knack for wowing us with their vocal abilities and their jaw-dropping visuals. Whether they’re setting the stage on fire at the People’s Choice Awards, Global Citizen’s “One World Together At Home,” the MTV VMAs, or dropping fire music videos like last year’s “UnGodly Hour,” you can count on the SWV (sisters with voices, of course) to deliver.

Naturally, the sisters that sing (and act) together, stick together, and in a new interview, Chloe proved once again that she has her sister’s back through thick and thin. 

In 2019, Halle made headlines when she was cast as Ariel in Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. As the first Black actress to tackle the role, she faced some racist backlash.

In her new interview, Chloe reminds us that all those racist haters will eat their words when they hear Halle’s voice bring “Part Of Your World” to new heights.

“I'm gonna let her voice speak for itself,” she told Buzzfeed. “When people see and hear her onscreen, they'll have nothing bad to say.”

She also is Halle’s biggest hype man (er, sister), positively gushing about Halle smashing her audition.

“I remember running lines with her while she was auditioning,” Chloe raved. “I love thinking back to those moments outside our house in LA and going over lines and hearing her sing. It was also so special seeing her at the screen test.”

“Like, I cried,” she revealed. “I knew in that moment that she landed the role — I don't think she did until she got the official call, but I knew that the role was hers.”

This isn’t the first time Chloe has been mega-vocal about her sister’s massive talent. In 2019, when Halle’s casting as Ariel was announced, Chloe told People that “proud” doesn’t even begin to describe how she feels about her sister. 

“I was more than proud,” she exclaimed at the time. “I was screaming and crying. She worked so hard.”

Halle herself has previously spoken about how she doesn’t focus on the naysayers and the online trolls, preferring instead to focus on the positive side.

Halle Bailey on her new #LittleMermaid role: "I don't pay attention to the negativity; I just feel like this role is something bigger than me" https://t.co/pidgYYQ0lw pic.twitter.com/rmUxbFSuYY

— Variety (@Variety) August 7, 2019

"I feel like I'm dreaming and I'm just grateful and I don't pay attention to the negativity," she told Variety at the Power of Young Hollywood gala in 2019. "I just feel like this role was something bigger than me and greater and it's going to be beautiful. I'm just so excited to be a part of it." 

Ariel isn’t the only role Halle has on the docket. In February of this year, it was announced she has been cast in Oprah Winfrey’s upcoming musical film adaptation of The Color Purple, based on the 1985 Steven Spielberg film that starred Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg.

Despite the haters, the Bailey sisters are firmly poised to dominate in 2022.