Josh Gad condemns trolls amid backlash toward Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid

Josh Gad condemned ‘lame’ trolls who didn’t like the upcoming trailer for the live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid.

Ever since Disney announced the casting of Halle Bailey in July 2019, the network has received a furious backlash online after taking numerous steps to become more inclusive in recent years.

The negative response to the film’s official trailer, the first real look at the film, has been so severe that YouTube disabled the dislike counter after it reached more than 1.5 million in two days.

Gad, who previously starred in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Frozen, took to Twitter on Thursday to write: “Imagine being so broken and pathetic in life that your main concern is the skin color of… a singing mermaid imaginary”. ‘

Disney has taken numerous steps to become more comprehensive recently, including a gay kiss between two female characters in the film Lightyear and casting Halley as a black Ariel in its upcoming live-action version of the beloved film.

Dismissing the haters: Josh Gad, 42, condemned the backlash against the upcoming live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid

The 22-year-old actress commented on the backlash when she said Variety her grandparents offered her words of encouragement and reminded her how important her role in the film would be.

“It was inspiring and beautiful to hear his words of encouragement, telling me, ‘You don’t understand what this is doing for us, for our community, for all the black and brown girls that are going to look in you,'” the Atlanta native told half.

Bailey said that seeing the iconic character of Ariel as a person of color when she grew up would have had a positive impact on her self-esteem.

“What that would have done for me, how it would have changed my confidence, my belief in myself, everything,” the Grown-ish star said. ‘Things that seem so small to everyone else are so big to us.’

Many online attacks targeting Disney have been tinged with racism over the decision to cast a black woman as the fictional character, who has largely been portrayed as white in previous pop culture offerings, including Disney’s popular 1989 cartoon. .

One Twitter user said: ‘If Disney wants more diversity, they should have created another character… Before they respect all other ethnicities and cultures, shouldn’t they at least be respectful of origin? #nomiariel.’

While others said that “race switching is not right” and stated that the film was “a waste of money”.

Disney has made a big effort to become more inclusive: changing park policy to prevent staff from using gender salutations, implementing anti-racism training for employees, giving older characters progressive makeovers and removing images game and movie offenses; however, some people feel that the company has gone too far in its changes.

The Little Mermaid has garnered more than 1.5 million dislikes on YouTube after star actress Bailey faced backlash from online trolls for her casting.

The Little Mermaid is the live action adaptation of the popular Disney princess animated film starring actress Bailey.

YouTube disabled the dislike counter on the video-sharing platform on September 11

Trolls took to Twitter to spread racial attacks with the hashtag #NotmyAriel and called out Disney’s choice to cast a black woman in the movie #woke.

In January 2022, Disney unveiled a new look for Minnie Mouse, in which the character ditched her signature red polka dot dress in favor of a “progressive” blue pantsuit.

One such person is billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, who recently declared war on the company’s “overspending and mismanagement.”

And while many have praised the company for its change in direction, the question has lingered in recent months whether they’ve gone too far with changes it’s recently implemented, from dressing Minnie Mouse in a pantsuit to issuing a racism warning. before their parents. films.

In January 2022, Disney unveiled a new “woke” look for Minnie Mouse, in which the beloved character ditched her signature red polka dot dress in favor of a “progressive” blue pantsuit designed by Stella McCartney.

However, the move was met with uproar online, and within minutes of the tweet being posted, dozens of users began voicing their outrage over the iconic mouse’s restyle, as her trademark red and white dress had become into a staple for the character.