News of Disney casting Halle Bailey as Ariel for its live-action remake of The Little Mermaid continued to trend throughout Thursday and Friday morning when the hashtag #NotMyAriel gained momentum on Twitter.
#NotMyAriel trending on twitter? Some people really stuck in the past
pic.twitter.com/6spAC6QEGA No ad to show here.
— Miguel (@MiguelCarloG) July 5, 2019
The hashtag mocked comments across social media that claimed Disney was disrespecting people’s childhoods by not casting a “pale, blue-eyed, redhead” woman to play the role.
“Last time I checked Ariel has been pale, blue eyed, and a red head in the original movie, the broadway show, the spinoffs, and in the Disney parks?” one fan commented on Instagram
Some even went so far as to say they had lost their ginger princess icon, and that natural redheads no longer have any representation in Disney movies.
“She’s the most iconic redhead & you ruined it. No representation for us,” another Instagrammer said.
Though the offended fans think they are justified, Twitter was having none of it.
Grow up!#NotMyAriel pic.twitter.com/ARUEuEWwYT
— Warrior Queen (@Sensual_Maiden) July 5, 2019
Also The Little mermaid is an almost 200 years old “fairy tale” NOT an realistic historic description of an actual event…so fuck you and your racist #NotMyAriel pic.twitter.com/nlVhFbqAfT
— Leo_Kaiju (@LeoNavi8) July 5, 2019
Since yall wanna claim “historical” or “scientific” inaccuracies with #NotMyAriel, I’m bringing this back. Your pale white and skinny red-headed Ariel is fictional. pic.twitter.com/vFjipFpQco
— duke (@dkkhri) July 5, 2019
Wow who knew King Triton was right when he told Ariel to stay away from humans cause they’re all shit #NotMyAriel pic.twitter.com/RfVxkx1QrM
— Tim John (@hake_tim) July 4, 2019
As various people have already pointed out, we would all do well to remember that Ariel is a mythical being and the skin colour of her live-action portrayal shouldn’t even matter.
Feature image: screenshot, Disney via Instagram
