An Artificial Intelligence artist has sparked backlash after making a digitally altered version of the new The Little Mermaid trailer, replacing Halle Bailey with a white woman.
The trailer for the live-action remake - which was unveiled by Disney at the d23 expo on September 10 - has amassed over 16 million views in just five days.
However, the forthcoming animation has also received criticism from people who do not wish for Ariel to be portrayed by a Black woman. Thus far, the teaser trailer has garnered a shocking 2 million dislikes.
The ongoing discourse intensified when one user on Twitter used AI technology to transform the 22-year-old singer into a white woman - much like her previously animated counterpart.
In a now-deleted tweet from a suspended Twitter account, the tweet had read: "Credits to our memer Artificial Intelligence scientist @TenGazillioinIQ."
"He fixed The Little Mermaid and turned the woke actor into a ginger white girl. He says he can fix the whole move comes out with 4x A6000 in 24 hours. It's over for wokecels."
In a follow-up tweet, they continued: "Note for Twitter: This is for purely educational purposes, please do not misinterpret this in a racist way."
"I am just amazed by a high-IQ friend who works with Artificial Intelligence and the stuff he can make, and wanted to show people his field of study," the now-suspended account added.
As you can expect, the tweet generated a slew of angry responses from fans who pointed out the racism and absurdity of changing the character's skin color.
One user wrote: "I'm not racist, I just 'fixed' a kid's movie by changing the main character's race. Totally not racist," while another user sarcastically reacted: "Please do not interpret my blatant racism as racism."
A third user chimed in, writing: "Someone used AI to make the Little Mermaid white. Just don't watch the movie. Okay? Like why go to all this trouble? What point are you trying to make? 'They won't replace us!!' No one's replaced anything? The animated version is still available? Like...what's wrong with you?"
Despite all the negativity, many parents took to TikTok to share their children's positive reactions to seeing a Black woman as the beloved mermaid.
One user on Twitter did the honor of compiling all the heartwarming reactions under a thread to share the positive side of the Grammy-nominated musician playing Ariel.
In an interview with People, Bailey spoke on the importance of representation in the movie and how she will have the opportunity to inspire a younger generation.
"The fact that now it's getting to be played by me, a person who looks like me, woman of color, I'm just like, wow, I'm so grateful [for] what it will do for all the other little Black and brown boys and girls who will see themselves in me," she said.
"Because I know if I had seen myself when I was younger, I think my whole perspective would've changed," she added, explaining that she put her "all and passion" into the project.
The highly anticipated flick also stars Melissa McCarthy, Jonah Houer-King, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, Javier Bardem, Daveed Diggs, and Simone Ashley.
The Little Mermaid is set for release in theaters on May 26, 2023.
