Let’s see. Ariel is a fictional character. Not only that, she’s also a mermaid, which according to Merriam-Webster is “a fabled marine creature with the head and upper body of a woman and the tail of a fish.”
So, they’re not real. We had to look that one up to make sure that they’re not real, that they’re indeed made up. Because there are some people who are causing a fuss over the rumored casting of Zendaya, who is biracial, as Ariel in Disney’s live-action adaptation of its 1989 animated feature.
In the cartoon, Ariel is a redhead with European features. But if she lived in the ocean, then technically she wouldn’t be European. That is, if she were real.
The Daily Beast also points out that Danish author Hans Christian Andersen didn’t designate a race in his fairy tale for his underwater heroine.
But that hasn’t stopped the anti-Zendaya rants on social media, just because the 21-year-old Oakland native has too much melanin to their liking.
One Twitter user dropped the N-word after saying, “Zendaya would suck as little mermaid.”
Another said, “Don’t wanna Zendaya as The Little Mermaid. She doesn’t look like Ariel. I grew up watching Ariel so don’t disrespect my generation (expletive) ZENDAYA IS NOT ARIEL!!!’
And one more: “Can we stop blackwashing all the redhead roles? @Zendaya is great, but this needs to stop. Same as whitewashing.”
A quick scan through Twitter on Friday showed that Zendaya as Ariel had more supporters than detractors.
“@Zendaya at The Little Mermaid!? Ye please!!” one excited fan said.
“Little reminder that mermaids aren’t an actual race, so stop using excuses as ‘she isn’t light skinned or she isn’t red haired’ and deal with the fact that Zendaya’s gonna play Ariel in The Little Mermaid you (expletive) racists,” another said.
There were also a number of impromptu graphics:
One user got all scientific: “We’re talking about a human/fish hybrid, and fishes get their colouration (erythrin, xanthin, melanin) from diet. Chromatophores and irridocytes determine their colour.”
Also, you guys mad at the casting for The Little Mermaid, melatonin (hormone) is not melanin (pigment).We’re talking about a human/fish hybrid, and fishes get their colouration (erythrin, xanthin, melanin) from diet. Chromatophores and irridocytes determine their colour.
— Tade Thompson (@tadethompson) August 24, 2018
Zendaya faced a similar backlash when she was cast as Michelle opposite Tom Holland’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man in last year’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” Kirsten Dunst and Emma Stone had played Peter Parker’s love interest in the Marvel franchise’s previous incarnations.
Neither Disney nor Disney have confirmed her casting as Ariel. In fact, few details have been released, such as when the production is slated to air. Reportedly, however, “Hamilton’s” Lin-Manuel Miranda and composer Alan Menken are working on the adaptation.