The backlash over the Little Mermaid casting a black Ariel is fake news

To all Little Mermaid fans who were disheartened to learn that Disney casting a black woman in the role of Ariel had prompted a racist backlash, worry not: The #NotMyAriel controversy is mostly fake news.

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Last week, Disney announced that Halle Bailey, a black actress, would portray the fictional mermaid princess in a live-action remake. Allegedly, this infuriated some racists because Ariel is red-haired and white-skinned in the cartoon version. “Us white girls, who grew up with The Little Mermaid, deserved a true-to-color Ariel,” wrote one critic, Rebeccs, in a tweet that went viral. “Disney, you made a huge mistake by hiring Halle Bailey.”

Horrified? Don’t be. A troll account was responsible for the tweet, as Buzzfeed’s Brandon Wall helpfully explained:

Moreover, there were a lot more people responding to the tweet and disagreeing with it than liking it.

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