Josh Gad Gets Into ‘Pathetic’ Racist Waves About Halle Bailey As ‘The Little Mermaid’

Olaf and LeFou have stepped into the hot waters of “The Little Mermaid.”

“Frozen” and live-action “Beauty and the Beast” star Josh Gad on Thursday called people “pathetic” who didn’t like the latest trailer for Disney’s new version of “The Little Mermaid.” “, specifically those poor unfortunate souls who still couldn’t top R&B singer Halle Bailey playing the titular princess Ariel.

“Imagine being so broken and pathetic in life that your main concern is the skin color of…a fantasy singing mermaid,” the actor said. wrote on Twitterretweeting a Call to Activism post claiming that the “Little Mermaid” trailer is “currently being mass disliked on YouTube by MAGA racists.”

The full trailer has been seen, which caused a stir on Sunday during the Oscars. in Youtube more than 8.5 million times. It has received 191,000 likes but, according to the Call to Activism post, has been disliked more than 300,000 times and has been the subject of a tsunami of comments criticizing the special effects-laden production. (The trailer Disney released in September was reportedly disliked 3 million times.)

“The important thing about the Halle Bailey casting controversy is that we remember that a beautiful and talented actress won the role. We cannot allow racism to ever be normalized,” the post read.

In fact, the Chloe x Halle singer has been the subject of an avalanche of racist comments since her casting decision was made. announced in 2019. #NotMyAriel started trending as people complained that the studio cast a black actor to play a white-appearing character in the 1989 animated classic.

“As a black person, you expect it and it’s no longer a shock,” he told The Face in February. The “Do It” and “Ungodly Hour” siren, a trainee to musical powerhouse Beyoncé, has managed to hover above the buzz and focus on the positives of on-screen performance.

“I know people say, ‘It’s not about race.’ But now that I’m her. … People don’t understand that when you’re black there’s this whole other community,” said the 22-year-old artist. “It’s very important for us to see ourselves.”

Racist scraps and scraps aside, Bailey has already received a stamp of approval from Jodi Benson, who voiced the rebellious sea princess in the original musical. In September, the prolific voice actor said Bailey gives a “beautiful performance as Ariel” and called her “stunning” in instagram. And “West Side Story” star Rachel Zegler, a Latina who will play Snow White in an upcoming Disney remake, has also tried to drown out the naysayers answering to their twin reactions with “If you don’t support my girl halle, who is the perfect ariel, you don’t support any of us.”

Meanwhile, Bailey has accepted the role: promoting fashion doll taking on her likeness as Ariel, lovingly talking about music on the Oscars red carpet and teasing the movie trailer with co-star Melissa McCarthy during the 95th Academy Awards. McCarthy plays Ursula in the upcoming movie.

As for Gad, it’s not the first time the outspoken actor has faced controversy surrounding an updated Disney movie. The “History of the World: Part II” star played Gaston’s long-suffering sidekick, LeFou, in director Bill Condon’s 2017 remake of “Beauty and the Beast,” a character heralded as Disney’s first openly gay character. whose feelings for his friend lead to an “exclusively gay moment” in the film. But the actor said he’s “sorry” about how the blink-and-you-will-miss-it moment played out.

“We didn’t go far enough to deserve praise,” he said. the independent last year. “We didn’t go far enough to say, ‘Look how brave we are.’

“My regret about what happened is that it became ‘Disney’s first explicitly gay moment’ and it was never intended to be. It was never meant to be a moment to be commended for, because frankly I don’t think we’ve done justice to what a real gay character in a Disney movie should be.”

“The Little Mermaid” is directed by Oscar-nominated director Rob Marshall (“Mary Poppins Returns,” “Chicago,” “Nine”) and features four new songs written by Alan Menken, who won two Oscars for music for the original. and “Hamilton” writer Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Moana,” “Enchantment,” “Mary Poppins Returns”).

The film also stars Javier Bardem as King Triton, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, and Awkwafina as Scuttle. It dives into theaters on May 26.