Ariel attack: Haters come for ‘The Little Mermaid’ once again
Global News
The new 'The Little Mermaid' trailer has again fallen victim to a barrage of online hate from those who do not believe Halle Bailey, a Black woman, should play princess Ariel.
Some people simply refuse to see the magic in Disney‘s upcoming The Little Mermaid live-action remake.
During the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday, actor Halle Bailey, who plays titular mermaid character Ariel, and Melissa McCarthy, who plays Ursula, introduced the first full-length trailer for the much-anticipated remake.
Previously, Disney had released two short teaser trailers that offered only glimpses of Ariel and her oceanic companions.
The new two-minute trailer — which shows scenes of Ariel saving Prince Eric from drowning in a storm — has been viewed 7.9 million times on YouTube. The feedback online, however, has not been entirely positive, with the trailer garnering at least 839,000 dislikes since it was posted on Monday. There are only 165,000 likes on the video.
Backlash against the film has existed since the project was announced publicly. When it was reported in 2019 that 22-year-old Bailey would play Ariel, there was an instant negative wave of criticism online from those who felt a Black woman should not play the iconic mermaid princess.
The social media tag #NotMyAriel trended as a result.
YouTube as a whole even opted to disable the site’s public dislike counter as a result of a hateful barrage on the original teaser trailer, which amassed 1.5 million dislikes in the first two days of its September 2022 release.
Last month, Bailey spoke to the magazine The Face about the racism she’s experienced as a result of playing Ariel.
