Fans have been anticipating the release of new The Little Mermaid content ever since Halle Bailey was announced as the new Ariel (and a few other details were allowed to slip). But after a trailer teaser was posted to YouTube on Disney's official account, drama ensued.Not only have fans of the original film criticized Halle Bailey's casting, but they've also apparently pushed YouTube to deactivate the dislike counter on the new video.
The Little Mermaid Trailer Received More Than 1.5 Million Dislikes
In its first two days online, the The Little Mermaid trailer teaser was downvoted more than a million times, notes Daily Mail. At the time of publication, the counter on the YouTube page had been deactivated and did not reflect a total dislike count. Daily Mail noted, "The official teaser has surprisingly received 1.5 million dislikes on YouTube and even caused the video sharing platform to disable the dislike counter."
However, some commenters pointed out that the video had "more than 2 million dislikes."
The trailer did, however, have 14 million views yet under one million likes. To date, thousands of commenters have filled the YouTube video's comment section with unrelated nonsense, the aim of which is not entirely clear.
While Newsweek pointed out that many people took to social media to support the film (and its lead actress), they also acknowledged comments that complained about the film's 'unrealistic' nature.
Halle Bailey Previously Faced Racist Backlash For Her Casting
The YouTube downvotes aren't the first run-in Halle as Ariel has had with "fans." After Halle's casting was originally announced, many unhappy Disney fans took to social media to complain about "race swapping" in movies.
The complaints ranged from mildly bitter to downright racist, with commenters claiming Disney should have "create[d] another character" if they wanted to cast a Black actress.
Other commenters retorted that mermaids are make-believe, and therefore, people protesting the film on the basis of the actress' background or skin color is 'revealing.'
The Little Mermaid live-action remake is slated to release in May 2023.