Donald Glover has come to Halle Bailey s defense amid the racist backlash to her casting as Ariel in the upcoming live-action reboot of Disneys The Little Mermaid.

On Tuesday at the premiere of Disneys live-action reboot of The Lion King, Glover, who stars as adult Simba in the film, told E! News that he thought that was so special that Bailey, who is black, was cast as Ariel.

We were just watching that film and Im like, thats such a great story but Im just like, I dunno, I just hope that shes like having fun and dont let anybody make you feel the opposite of how you want to feel, Glover said.

Its a very special role and you earned it, so I hope youre listening, he added, addressing the 19-year-old singer directly.

Bailey, one half of the R&B duo Chloe x Halle , has been subject to racist attacks from haters who dont believe a black woman should play Ariel. Luckily, people like Glover have come out in support of Bailey.