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Halle Bailey has a Broadway legend in her corner.
Ahead of The Little Mermaid's release in theaters Friday, Stephanie Mills shared an open letter she wrote to the film's star Bailey, 23, on Facebook, showing support for the actress following racist comments made against the actress online following her casting as Ariel in 2019.
Mills, who originated the role of Dorothy in the Broadway musical The Wiz back in 1975, compared her own experience playing Dorothy on the stage — and the "hate mail" she received as a result — to some of the negative attention Bailey's casting received for the new Disney live-action reimagining.
"I was told Judy Garland ‘is turning over in her grave,' " Mills, 66, wrote, referencing the star of the original 1939 Wizard of Oz movie. "All because a little black girl was playing a [role] that was once played by a white girl."
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“It’s sad to see the same thing is happening to this beautiful, talented, smart and intelligent actress," the actress wrote of racist criticisms levied against Bailey.
"Halle, God put you in this place and time ... So let your light shine," she added in the open letter. "Hold your head up high, walk in your peace, and celebrate the greatness that you are.”
Mills received a Drama Desk Award nomination for her role as Dorothy in The Wiz's original production on Broadway; the show itself won seven Tony Awards in 1975, including Best Musical, per Playbill. Mills went on to reprise her role as Dorothy in a a 1984 revival of The Wiz, as well.
“They told me I would never make it on Broadway, they told me I couldn’t sing, they told me I was [too] dark, I have watched and listened to ‘they’ try to tell you why you shouldn’t and couldn’t," Mills wrote in her letter to Bailey, adding, "I am 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 finished in the open letter.
Bailey, for her part, has appeared graceful in ignoring the criticism, telling PEOPLE recently, "I don't really think about the naysayers."
"I just think about the people that are positive and lift me up," the actress said, adding that she credits other Black movie stars stars like Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard, Brandy in Cinderella and Anika Noni Rose in The Princess and the Frog for lighting her way ahead of The Little Mermaid.
"When I was able to see them, I felt like I was worthy," Bailey added. "Now that I'm on posters and inspiring these little girls that come up to me, it's very surreal. I just want to continue making them proud of me."
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Bailey added during her recent interview that she hopes "that the people who do go see this movie love it and leave the theater feeling happy because we all really collectively worked so hard on it."
"I know for sure I'm proud of it," she said.
Following its release on Friday, The Little Mermaid has thus far raked in more than $185 million worldwide, over Memorial Day weekend alone.
The Little Mermaid is in theaters now.
May 30, 2023 at 04:25AM
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Stephanie Mills Shows Support for 'Little Mermaid' Star Halle Bailey - PEOPLE
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