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Some folks on the Twittersphere gave a resounding “no” to the news that Melissa McCarthy, 48, is in talks to play Ursula in Disney’s live action version of The Little Mermaid. Our sister site Variety reported on June 28 that Disney is “looking to make contemporary and compelling casting choices, while still paying homage to the beloved animated original.” That’s not sitting well with Lizzo and her fans. The 31-year-old has actively campaigned for the role on social media and she posted a sad eyed emoji with the publication’s article about Melissa’s likely casting.
“Just gonna put this back out there. IT IS MY DREAM TO PLAY URSULA IN THE LIL MERMAID,’ Lizzo — real name Melissa Jefferson — tweeted on Oct. 14, 2018. Then a few weeks later she did an audition tape singing the sea witch’s main villain number “Poor Unfortunate Souls.” “Please, no. We need someone with more presence who can really belt out a song! What about Lizzo, Queen Latifah?,” one fan tweeted out at the news of Melissa possibly nabbing the role. Another wrote “THE ROLE OF URSULA IN THE LIVE ACTION VERSION OF THE LITTLE MERMAID BELONGS TO @lizzo AND NOBODY ELSE!!! One user tweeted “Bad call. I like McCarthy and all, but after watching Lizzo at the 2019 BET Awards, Lizzo would make the better choice.”
“I am vetoing this already. We done told yall to cast @lizzo. @Disney,” a user named Tre’vell tweeted. “#Ursula was based on ballroom drag queens, so this role made for a plus size Black woman, woman aligned person, or drag queen. Someone who has camp experience. Someone like @lizzo, Titus Burgess or @Peppermint247,” another fan wrote. A man named George tweeted “TS Madison, Lizzo, Danielle Brooks. That’s the list. That’s it. Cast one of them or keep it on the playground.”
— Feelin Good As Hell (@lizzo) June 28, 2019
I’M URSULA. PERIOD. @Disney pic.twitter.com/9YPVPPvVpz
— Feelin Good As Hell (@lizzo) November 1, 2018
“Could you imagine if in the live action little mermaid we would have Zendaya as ariel AND Lizzo as Ursula… the POWER that would have but no Disney is a lil bitch,” one person tweeted out about what could have been an epic casting idea. A user named Shivani was also mad at the studio, tweeting “Yo @DisneyStudios you suck at casting. Ursula should be @lizzo in this Little Mermaid Live Action film.”