Donald Glover and team have social media buzzing over “Swarm.” The psychological drama was released on Friday (March 17) and remained a viral hot topic all weekend long.
From dissecting all of the Beyoncé/Beyhive references to that viral sex scene between Chlöe Bailey and Damson Idris and the murderous spree executed by star Dominique Fishback’s character Dre, not one aspect of the seven-episode series was overlooked. Well, except for one appearance in episode two, “Honey,” that has taken viewers a second to catch on to: Paris Jackson.
The oldest of Michael Jackson’s three children plays Hailey, a stripper whose stage name is Halsey — more on that in a second. She befriends Dre in between one of her many evolutions that take place throughout the series. In one scene, Hailey explains to Dre that she has struggled to be accepted in society because of her white skin, revealing, “I mean, I ran away from my last relationship because he couldn’t accept me as Black.” To which Dre bewilderedly responded by asking, “You’re Black?” Hailey says that her dad is Black, hence the reason she goes by Halsey, like the real-life biracial singer who passes for white.
“Swarm” co-creator and showrunner Janine Nabers spoke with Variety about the decision to cast Paris for the role. She said the idea came from casting director Carmen Cuba. “She pitched Paris Jackson, and we all like fell out. We were like, ‘Exactly. That’s exactly what we’re talking about,’” said Nabers.
Everyone on the show’s crew agreed that Paris nailed the role and was fantastic on set. “She’s a professional. She came in and asked all the right questions,” added Nabers, who is Black. She noted that the two also bonded over their Jewish backgrounds. “She identifies as Jewish, so we bonded about that. And she trusted us. She was like, ‘I understand what this role is, and here’s how I’m gonna approach it.’ She really just owned it, this character of a light-passing biracial woman who is really intent on letting everyone know about her Blackness.”
Check out some viewer reactions below.