A marine biologist has revealed the reason why it "makes sense" that the new The Little Mermaid movie features a Black Ariel.
On September 10, Disney unveiled the trailer for the live-action remake of the animated film, and it has been met with abhorrent reactions from viewers.
In just a matter of days, the trailer racked up a staggering 2 million dislikes, with many users left unhappy that Ariel was black.
Despite all the discourse regarding the fictional character, Karen Osborn, a marine biologist has come forward to shut down the theories that the mermaid - played by Halle Bailey - can't be black.
Watch The Little Mermaid trailer below:In an interview with BuzzFeed, Osborn explained: "As you move through the water column - as you dive deeper and deeper - right at the surface, a lot of things are blue, because you blend in with the sky behind you for predators that are down below looking up.
"And then you have a bunch of mirrored animals, so they just reflect whatever's around them and that's a good camouflage in shallow water," she continued.
"As you get deeper, you see animals that are pigmented or deep red [because] there's hardly any red light in the deep sea, so being red is effectively being black," she said, adding how in the sea there are lots of "ultra-black fish".
Osborn also said that - hypothetically - mermaids would most likely be "transparent" and if they were, this would mean they "can blend in pretty well".
However, she jokily added that it would make for challenging movie shooting, saying: "I don't think they'll find any transparent actresses".
On the positive side of things, social media has seen a truly heartwarming influx of videos documenting what it means for young Black girls and boys to see someone like them portraying a Disney princess.
Late last year on Talks with Mama Tina, the 22-year-old singer starring as the red-haired mermaid revealed why it was special to get the role of the cherished character.
"My image of Ariel that I’ve had is the red hair, the pale skin, and the tail, and she was amazing to me. I loved her like we all did. But that’s what I’ve seen her as for so long," she said.
"But [I'm] so grateful that I kind of get to reinvent Ariel and show other young, beautiful Black and brown children that hey, you can be this too," she continued, adding, "You are magical and mythical and all of the wonderful things in between as well.”
As well as Bailey, Melissa McCarthy will appear in the movie playing the role of the sea witch Ursula, and Javier Bardem will play Ariel's dad, King Triton.
The Little Mermaid will be released in theaters on May 2023.
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