Peter Smith King, the makeup artist for Melissa McCarthy's live-action Ursula in Dinsey's The Little Mermaid, responded to criticisms that an LGBTQ+ makeup artist should have taken his place. According to Insider, King faced heavy criticism from those who feel that a queer makeup artist should have been given the chance to transform McCarthy into a live-action Ursula. This is based on the fact that Ursula's animator Rob Minkoff from the original 1989 animated film drew inspiration for the character from the late drag queen performer, Divine. Despite this, King argues that the criticism is unfair, deeming it "offensive" to suggest that he can't do as good of a job as a queer makeup artist.
"I find that very offensive. Why can't I do as good a job as a queer makeup artist?" he said. "That's ridiculous. That's trying to claim it and that's fine, if that's what they wanna do, but don't put people down because they're not what they want it to be." King has worked within film and theater for over 42 years, working on iconic productions such as Mary Poppins and Lord of the Rings, and has met Divine in person before the performer's death. However, King states that his Ursula is not based on Divine at all and that he took a different approach when creating his version of the character.
The Influence of Drag on The Little Mermaid's Ursula
"...I didn't really draw on anything, I played around quite a lot with different colors, different shapes, and stuff. It was just sort of Melissa and I talking and creating," King explained. "...We discussed everything. I mean, we both laughed about how we loved drag queens and drag makeup and stuff. But it wasn't based on any drag acts at all." However, McCarthy has previously explained how drag influenced her portrayal of the iconic sea witch.
"I'm a huge, huge fan of drag shows and the whole art of it and the entertainment of it," the actor said in April. "I've been going to shows since I was not supposed to be going to shows. There's a drag queen that lives in me. I'm always right on the verge of going full-time with her."
Disney recently shared McCarthy's Ursula transformation on Twitter, which prompted criticism from contemporary drag artists. Sierra La Puerta openly mocked the video, saying, "when Ursula was inspired by a drag queen we didn't mean one who had only been doing it for three months." This was echoed by RuPaul's Drag Race stars Art Simone and Kerri Colby, the latter of which cited King's Ursula as "why we should hire up-and-coming queer artists with a pulse on the present and a vision for the future more often."
Disney's live-action The Little Mermaid is now in theaters.
Source: Twitter, via Insider