The trailer of The little Mermaid, a new Disney production, was finally unveiled this week. Directed by Rob Marshall, the first images of this adaptation have generated many reactions on social networks.
In this live-action remake, Ariel, the main character, is played by the young black American actress Halle Bailey. This visibly displeased some Internet users, indignant at Disney’s casting choice, and who attacked the young actress, victim for a few days of a flood of racist comments.
An AI to “bleach” Ariel, turning her white and red
On Twitter, some users even shared an AI-altered video in which Halle Bailey’s skin was lightened to supposedly be more faithful to the tale the cartoon is inspired by.
A Twitter account has indeed boasted of having used an AI to “bleach” Ariel, making her white and red. “Congratulations to our AI scientist @TenGazillionIQ. He fixed the Little Mermaid and transformed the woke actress into a redhead and white girl. He says he is able to repair the entire film within 24 hours of its release. It’s over for the wokists”, can we read in particular in a tweet published by @vandalibm, whose account as well as that of other users, has since been suspended by Twitter, for having violated “the rules of the platform” .
Halle Bailey did not react to this controversy and preferred to share videos of reactions of little black girls amazed to see a Little Mermaid in their image.
