Disney’s Black ‘Little Mermaid’ Trailer Bombed With 1.5 Million YouTube Dislikes In One Day

Disney’s Black ‘Little Mermaid’ Trailer Bombed With 1.5 Million YouTube Dislikes In One Day
Disney’s trailer for their new “Little Mermaid” live-action remake has received 1.5 million dislikes on YouTube in just one day.
By Andrew White
Published 20 hours ago

Disney’s trailer for their new adaptation of “The Little Mermaid” featuring singer and actress Halle Bailey as “Ariel” has received extremely low marks among users and critics on YouTube.

While YouTube’s current configurations do not typically allow users to view the “dislike” count on videos posted to the platform, an internet extension can provide those numbers.

Currently, the modern adaptation of the childhood classic has received a staggering 1.5 million dislikes on YouTube as of the publication of this article.



Valiant News was able to independently confirm the number of dislikes on the video by using a browser extension, despite YouTube’s decision to remove public assess to the dislike count in December of last year.

Doing so reveals that, despite users themselves being unable to see the dislike count, three times as many users have used the button to express their distaste for the trailer compared to users who used the opposing button to express their satisfaction.



The live-action remake film appears to notably differ from its 1989 cartoon original, as the main character – a mermaid – was portrayed as a white woman with blue eyes and red hair.

Online defenders of the new Disney film have claimed that the millions of dislikes were dished out by “racists” and “white supremacists” who allegedly take issue with the prospect of “Ariel” being portrayed by a black woman of color.

“The only reason this is getting flak is because the main lead is now of African American descent. It’s extremely disgusting how alive racism and prejudice is in this world,” tweeted user @BedsideGamma in defense of black “Ariel.”



“Why is it actually that big of a deal to cast a black actress? Like you weren’t gonna watch this film anyways and it doesn’t change the original. I hope from now on every white character you enjoy becomes a poc in some remake fuck u,” tweeted user @abbywabby492.

However, critics have repeatedly argued that they are not racist, claiming that many people may just be sick of “woke” Disney movies and live-action remakes.

Quote :

However, critics have repeatedly argued that they are not racist, claiming that many people may just be sick of “woke” Disney movies and live-action remakes.

I'm not familiar with The Little Mermaid .. Wasn't it a cartoon?.. Animation or something? .. I guess it doesn't occur to them that their remake just sux. .. The millions that don't like it must be Raysiss

Grackle wrote:

Quote :

However, critics have repeatedly argued that they are not racist, claiming that many people may just be sick of “woke” Disney movies and live-action remakes.

I'm not familiar with The Little Mermaid .. Wasn't it a cartoon?.. Animation or something? .. I guess it doesn't occur to them that their remake just sux. .. The millions that don't like it must be Raysiss

1989 cartoon

Halle Bailey tears up while revealing her ‘Little Mermaid’ doll: ‘This means so much to me’
The Today Show
JOYANN JEFFREY
March 7, 2023, 10:39 AM

One of Halle Bailey's childhood dreams has come true.

Bailey, 22, unveiled her new "Little Mermaid" doll on March 6, which has the same mole that Bailey has on her face.

"I have something really exciting to reveal to you all. I am going to cry," the "Little Mermaid" actor says before unveiling the doll in a video she shared on Twitter and Instagram. "This is the new 'The Little Mermaid' doll. I am literally choking up because this means so much to me and to have one that looks like me, that is my favorite Disney character, is very surreal.

"And look, she even has my mole," Bailey continues, pointing to the doll's mole before pointing to her own. "See!"



Bailey expressed excitement when showing fans that the doll also had the same hairstyle as her, and she said she was "so stunned" by the toy's appearance that she joked she might steal it, "take it home and hide it forever."

Bailey captioned the cute clip, "Omg the little girl in me is pinching herself right now ..i have my own Little Mermaid Ariel doll !!! I can’t believe how much she captures my version of this iconic character brb gonna go cry now …"

On Instagram, Bailey's sister Chloe commented, "IM BUYING 100 OF THEM!!!"

The official IG account of Barbie said, "Well deserved ."

Rapper Coi Leray added, " congratulations you are so inspiring."

And "West Side Story" actor Rachel Zegler said, "baby girl! what dreams are made of."

In September 2022, fans saw the first teaser trailer of Disney's highly-anticipated live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid.”

The clip showed Bailey singing her character Ariel's hit song "Part Of Your World," which was originally made popular by Jodi Benson in the 1989 animated film.


HALLE BAILEY in THE LITTLE MERMAID (2023) (WALT DISNEY PICTURES / Alamy Stock Photo)

In a February interview with "The Face," Bailey opened up about the racist backlash she received for her casting in the movie and said that as a Black woman, she expected it to happen.

She also talked about the backlash during a September Q&A session with her fans on her YouTube channel, where she leaned into optimism by saying she's happy that her being cast in the movie has sparked a conversation on race.

“Today, with all of the kind of commentary and people’s opinions going on, it just reminds me to be, number one, grounded and grateful that I have this opportunity, and the fact that it’s sparking such a discussion like this for all of us,” she said in the video. “I know what it would have meant to me as a little girl to have been able to see a Black Ariel when I was younger. If I would have seen that, it would have changed my whole outlook on life.”