Disney star Josh Gad calls out ‘pathetic’ racist response to Halle Bailey’s Little Mermaid trailer
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney; Rodin Ikenroth/Getty
Josh is serious Supports his Disney family.
after First trailer For Disney’s live-action adaptation of the little Mermaid for the first time during 95th Academy Awards CeremonyGad, 42, called out the ongoing racist response to Halle BaileyHe was cast as Ariel, resulting in the YouTube video being flooded with 1.2 million “dislikes” as of Saturday.
“Imagine that you are broken and pathetic in life “Your main concern is the skin color of the fairy singing mermaid,” Gad wrote Thursday on Twitter.
Related: Little mermaid Director had no ‘agenda’ when casting Halle Bailey: ‘We saw everyone and every race’
the teaser first For the highly anticipated update of the 1989 animated film, it’s also garnered 3.5 million likes since it premiered in September.
the little Mermaid Director Rob Marshall previously responded to the racist backlash that has plagued the film since Billy Casting has been announced in 2019, stating that there was “no agenda” in casting a black actress.
“We were just I am looking for the best actor for this role, a period. the end ” Entertainment Weekly in December. “We saw everyone and every race.”
Related: the little Mermaid Advertisement for Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy at the 2023 Academy Awards
He explained that their criteria is someone who is “incredibly strong, passionate, beautiful, witty, and intelligent” who exudes “a great deal of fire and joy” in playing the iconic Disney Princess.
Getting the role, Bailey told PEOPLE,Changed my view of everything,” explaining in September how “it affected my life in so many ways.”
Related video: Why Halle Bailey was “crying” afterward the little Mermaid: “I came out of this cocoon with Ariel”
“The fact that I will now be played by me, someone who looks like me, a woman of color, I just, wow, I am so grateful for what you will do for all the other little black and brown boys and girls who see themselves in me,” said Bailey. “Because I know if I see Myself when I was younger, I think my whole perspective would have changed.”
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the little Mermaid Premieres in theaters May 26.
