H.E.R. ‘Can’t Be More Grateful’ to Star as Belle in ABC’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Special

‘Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration’ will be directed by Hamish Hamilton and ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ director Jon M.Chu, who says in a statement, ‘H.E.R. is the perfect embodiment of our Belle.’

AceShowbiz –H.E.R. “couldn’t be more grateful” to be a part of ABC’s upcoming “Beauty and the Beast” special cast. Having been tapped to star as Belle for the project, the “Slow Down” singer expressed her gratitude in a statement.

“I can’t believe I get to be a part of the ‘Beauty and the Beast’ legacy,” the 25-year-old musician gushed on Wednesday, July 20. “The world will see a Black and Filipino Belle! I have always wanted to be a Disney princess, and I get to work with two wonderful directors Hamish Hamilton and my favorite, Jon M. Chu. It is very surreal and I couldn’t be more grateful.”

Jon, meanwhile, teased what H.E.R. will bring to the project. “With her obvious extraordinary talent and stage presence, H.E.R. is the perfect embodiment of our Belle and we are thrilled for audiences to see her in this celebration of creativity,” Jon said.

“We were both influenced as storytellers by the original animated movie,” the “Crazy Rich Asians” helmer added. “So it’s very exciting to collaborate together to honor the artistry of that timeless classic while also inspiring a whole new generation of creators.”

On Thursday, H.E.R. took to her Instagram account to post a video of herself lip-syncing to Richard White and Paige O’Hara’s “Belle” while dancing around the neighborhood. In the caption, she penned, “PRACTICING MY DISNEY PRINCESS IN NICE.”

“YOURE LOOKING AT THE FIRST BLACK AND FILIPINO BELLE FOR ABC’s ‘Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration’,” the five-time Grammy winner further noted. “I’ve always wanted to be a Disney princess.”

“Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration” is produced by Done+Dusted in association with Walt Disney Television Alternative and Electric Somewhere. Aside from starring in the project, H.E.R. serves as producer. Jon, Caitlin Foito, Hamilton, Raj Kapoor, Richard Kraft and Katy Mullan, meanwhile, are executive producers.

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