The live-action remake of The Little Mermaid has been through the dregs of hell and the film hasn’t even been released yet.
When the first look at the Rob Marshall-helmed musical dropped in the form of a teaser, fans attacked it with unbridled mockery and censure to the point where the clip received around 3 million dislikes. And now that the official trailer for the film is out, the stench of animosity from viewers only seems to have multiplied.
The only difference is that this time, Josh Gad has made it a point to take a firm stand against the innumerable racist trolls trotting over the internet.
The Little Mermaid‘s Official Trailer Falls Prey to Sharp Rebuke
The first official trailer for The Little Mermaid was released just a few days ago and it seems to have snared bouts of relentless mockery along with comments crammed with repulsion in a mere week or so. Not to mention the unbridled racism that seems to follow the film like a dark cloud on a gloomy day.
Directed by Academy Award-nominee Rob Marshall and co-written by Jane Goldman and David Magee, The Little Mermaid is a live-action fantasy/musical adapted from the 1989 musical of the same name. The upcoming film stars Halle Bailey as Ariel along with Jonah Hauer-King portraying Prince Eric, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, and Simone Ashley as Indira. The movie also features the likes of Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Ever since the cast for The Littler Mermaid (2023) was announced and fans realized Bailey, 22, would be taking over Ariel’s character, a tempest of insults and derogatory remarks were hurled at the young singer and actress followed by intense racism. All because the Disney princess in the stories and earlier animations has been portrayed with a different skin color. Whatever happened to “‘change is good?”
This time though, Josh Gad has quite brilliantly shut down racist trolls on Twitter as he stands up for Bailey.
Josh Gad Takes A Shot at Bitter Racists And Haters
Josh Gad is famous for his comedic roles in several films, including Adam Sandler-led Pixels, 2016’s The Angry Birds Movie, and Jeremy Garelick’s The Wedding Ringer, to name a few. He also happens to be a renowned Disney star, having appeared in a number of the studio’s projects like Frozen and its sequel as well as Beauty and the Beast. So, when a fellow Disney star was being antagonized by racist trolls, Gad simply couldn’t stand the atrocity.
He recently took to Twitter to share his harsh but honest two cents about people belittling Bailey for her skin in The Little Mermaid, and the Marshall actor did not hold back.
As fans’ derision peels into a thick, dark layer of hatred and racism, Gad, 42, reminds everyone how being hostile towards the skin color of an actress portraying a fictional character is simply beyond “broken and pathetic.”
Wiser words have never been spoken.
The Little Mermaid is set to hit theatres on May 26, 2023.
Source: Twitter