'Little Mermaid' Casting Causes Controversy

When Disney announced that Halle Bailey was cast in the coveted role of Ariel in its upcoming live-action production of The Little Mermaid, many celebrities and fans across the world quickly voiced their support for the nineteen-year-old R&B singer. The Greatest Showman's Zendaya, whom many speculated would win the role of Ariel, voiced her support for Bailey on Twitter, as did others, including Broadway actresses Cynthia Erivo and Patti Murin and Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis. Supporters quickly created stunning fan art, depicting Bailey as Ariel in iconic scenes and outfits from the original film. However, Bailey's casting was also met with significant backlash from fans who demanded that Ariel be portrayed by a white actress.

Some Twitter users took to using #NotMyAriel to express their disapproval of an African American woman portraying the character, claiming that the mermaid should be portrayed by a white woman because that is the character's race in the original film. Other users countered the racist argument, defending the casting decision on the basis that Ariel, a fictional, mythological character, can quite literally be of any race.

Meanwhile, Hamilton: An American Musical cast an entire Broadway show with men of color portraying America's founding fathers, and it is so widely-beloved that tickets are practically unattainable. It's strange that audiences have no problem with real, historical figures such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson being depicted by men of color but threaten to boycott Disney's new film when a mythical creature is depicted by a young woman of color.

Those who have criticized the decision maintain that their desire to have a white woman play Ariel is not racism but a means of preserving their childhood memories. Others have used arguments based in nonexistent "reverse racism," claiming that casting an African American woman as Ariel would be like choosing a white woman to play Tiana from Disney's The Princess and the Frog. However, what these fans are not comprehending is that Tiana's race is relevant to the plot of the story: a young, African American woman in 1920's Louisiana would have had a much more difficult time achieving her dream of owning a restaurant than a white woman during that time. Likewise, Mulan must be depicted by a Chinese actress because, you know, Mulan was a Chinese woman who saved China. Arguing that Ariel must be white when her race has no bearing on her character or the plot of the movie is absolutely, undeniably racist, no matter what critics may claim.

Daveed Diggs, the actor who played Thomas Jefferson in the original production of Hamilton on Broadway, once said that "seeing a black man play Jefferson or Madison or Washington when he was a kid in Oakland might have changed his life." Instead, Diggs was consistently subjected to shows that depicted "a messed-up black kid," thus informing his opinion of himself and his future. Casting an African American woman as Ariel does not change the plot of the film nor the character's arc; it merely provides crucial, life-changing representation for children of color across the world.