Via Getty Images
<p><strong>DDG</strong> and <strong>Halle Bailey</strong>&#8216;s adorable relationship has been deemed &#8216;couple goals&#8217; across social media, and the rapper recently defended his girlfriend amid the backlash she&#8217;s received about playing Ariel in &#8216;The Little Mermaid.&#8217;</p>
<p>While catching up with <a href="https://youtu.be/4Y3TSzPPtWQ">Bootleg Kev</a>, DDG defended Halle, and explained that people are attacking &#8216;Ariel&#8217; the character as opposed to Halley Bailey the person. He also said that the singer and actress isn&#8217;t letting the negativity get to her.</p>
<blockquote><p>She be laughing it off. They be going a little too hard. But I feel like the people are more attacking the character rather than her personally. You know what I&#8217;m saying? I feel like she&#8217;s caught in the crossfire because she&#8217;s playing the character.&#8221;</p>
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<blockquote><p>Cause it&#8217;s impossible to be mean to Halle. She&#8217;s too sweet and she&#8217;s really like that in person. So if people actually took the time to realize whose actually playing The Little Mermaid rather than just going up because she&#8217;s black, they would realize they&#8217;re trippin&#8217;.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>The conversation quickly shifted to race relations and the realities of how Black people are viewed in America nearly 200 years after slavery was abolished. DDG was seemingly taken aback by the severity of the comments aimed at Halle, and even joked about Martin Luther King&#8217;s role in gaining freedom for people of color.</p>
<blockquote><p>Yeah I didn&#8217;t know people were this racist. I didn&#8217;t know. I thought this sh*t was gone already. Like, I thought Martin Luther King canceled this sh*t out.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0-wPm99PF9U" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>Despite the negative reactions, children across TikTok showed joy and excitement seeing <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/brown-ariel-black-kids-reacting-sweetly-to-halle-bailey-as-the-little-mermaid-tiktok/">their reflection in Halle as &#8216;Ariel.&#8217;</a></p>
<blockquote class="tiktok-embed" style="max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@nickyknackpaddywack/video/7142138063504969006" data-video-id="7142138063504969006">
<section><a title="@nickyknackpaddywack" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@nickyknackpaddywack?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@nickyknackpaddywack</a> Mayas reaction to <a title="thelittlemermaid" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/thelittlemermaid?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#thelittlemermaid</a> trailer. <a title="representationmatters" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/representationmatters?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#representationmatters</a> <a title="representationinthemediamatters" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/representationinthemediamatters?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#representationinthemediamatters</a> <a title="blackgirls" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/blackgirls?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#blackgirls</a> <a title="⬠original sound - Nicky" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7142138065312582442?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">⬠original sound &#8211; Nicky</a></section>
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<blockquote class="tiktok-embed" style="max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@thedfwdad/video/7141833387618209067" data-video-id="7141833387618209067">
<section><a title="@thedfwdad" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thedfwdad?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@thedfwdad</a> Never thought a movie trailer could make me cry but then I saw @halle and knew how it would make my kids feel. Thanks @disney for making my kids feel seen. Can’t wait to be at Disney World in 12 days! <a title="disney" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/disney?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#disney</a> <a title="interacialadoption" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/interacialadoption?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#interacialadoption</a> <a title="representationmatters" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/representationmatters?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#representationmatters</a> <a title="littlemermaid" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/littlemermaid?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#littlemermaid</a> <a title="thelittlemermaidtrailer" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/thelittlemermaidtrailer?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#thelittlemermaidtrailer</a> <a title="partofyourworld" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/partofyourworld?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#partofyourworld</a> <a title="blackgirlmagic" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/blackgirlmagic?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#blackgirlmagic</a> <a title="girldad" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/girldad?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#girldad</a> <a title="d23" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/d23?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#d23</a> <a title="disneyadult" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/disneyadult?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#disneyadult</a> <a title="⬠The Little Mermaid (Marimba Remix) - Harry Goes Boom!" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/The-Little-Mermaid-Marimba-Remix-6829211897468815361?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">⬠The Little Mermaid (Marimba Remix) &#8211; Harry Goes Boom!</a></section>
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