Halle Bailey, Jodi Benson share sweet moment at 'The Little Mermaid' premiere
Halle Bailey and Jodi Benson shared a sweet moment together at the world premiere of "The Little Mermaid" in Hollywood Monday night.
The actresses, who have both played Ariel, found each other on the blue carpet and shared an embrace. They also posed for a photo together.
Bailey stars as Ariel in the upcoming "Little Mermaid" live-action film, which is out in theaters later this month. Benson voiced Ariel in the original 1989 Disney animated feature, which earned two Oscars for best original song and best original score.
Bailey is making history as the first Black actress to play Ariel. The singer, one half of the singing group Chloe X Halle, was cast in the role in July 2019.
Bailey told "Good Morning America" on the blue carpet that she hopes her role as Ariel lets others who never saw themselves represented with their favorite princesses know that they "deserve to be in these spaces."
"I hope they see themselves in me on the screen," she said. "I'm just grateful to be here. There were women before me like Brandy and Anika [Noni] Rose, who really were the blueprint for me to even be able to be here today. So I'm just taking this moment all in. I'm so excited."
The Rob Marshall-directed film also stars Javier Bardem as King Triton, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian and Awkwafina as Scuttle.
"The Little Mermaid" live action film will premiere in theaters on May 26.
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