Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse producer Christopher Miller has brought his sense of humor to Twitter to defend the new star of The Little Mermaid from racist rancor.
After racist internet trolls hid behind pseudo-scientific arguments on The Little Mermaid's biological accuracy, Miller, while not involved with the film, clapped back with a hysterically funny Ariel image. In the aftermath of backlash to a new trailer for The Little Mermaid, the producer posted a rebuttal, stating, "Folks suddenly care a lot about Disney making a 'biologically accurate' mermaid, but they’re too chicken to demand that every time Ariel’s head is above water, before she can sing or speak, she has to expel the seawater from her lungs in a long and graphic water-vomit." Miller followed the evocative phrase up with a spot-on image of Ariel doing just that.
The response comes as racist uproar against the movie experiences an uptick. Disney dropped an official teaser trailer for the live-action adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's 1837-published The Little Mermaid story, starring Halle Bailey as Ariel. The movie, whose star is half of the musical duo Chloe x Halle, is putting a fresh spin on the classic. She sports ginger locks and a sweet voice, singing a new version of "Part of Your World."
Unfortunately, the teaser was met with prejudicial negativity. This included the argument that it should have stayed true to the original protagonist, with pale skin, freckles and straight red hair. The trolls included a proclamation that the new star was #NotMyAriel. Another argument they pushed claims that mermaids cannot conceivably be black because they wouldn't be exposed to the sun enough; something that Miller also addressed with an acerbic retweet.
However, other fans are standing by Bailey, notably Jodi Benson, who voiced Ariel in Disney's iconic 1989 animated version. Plus, in an auspicious piece of evidence from the film's target audience, a video recently went viral showing a little girl's adorable reaction to watching the trailer. Miller adds his response to a growing list of people standing against the trolls amid the emergence of a #myariel hashtag supporting the young actor in the trailer. Tellingly, Bailey received a standing ovation at the D23 Expo, where her trailer first premiered.
The Ariel supporter in focus, Miller, co-produced Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse along with Phil Lord, and the two are set to return for the sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Miller also provided additional voices for the first film. The duo also directed The Lego Movie, and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.
As The Little Mermaid gets closer to its May 26, 2023 release date, the discussion between the two camps continues to heat up.
Source: Twitter