Racist trolls strike again as the “Little Mermaid'' trailer hits the media.

Over the past couple of weeks, there has been an excessive amount of blatant hate and obvious racism on social media due to the trailer of the new “Little Mermaid'' movie.

Now that a black actress is receiving massive representation for portraying the famous Disney princess Ariel in the world-renowned film, racist viewers have taken the well-deserved attention given towards Halle Bailey and turned it into a controversial argument. Users have taken to Twitter, TikTok and even YouTube to express their disdain over Bailey being chosen to play the role of a fictional mermaid character.

The controversy started when it was officially announced that Bailey would be cast as the lead role in the live action remake, in which the animated character is originally portrayed as white. Now that the trailer has officially arrived, critics of the film were quick to express their ignorant remarks about Bailey. These remarks ranged from disdain over Bailey’s skin color to complaining over the color of her hair not being as bright red as in the original. The trailer quickly amassed over 1.5 million dislikes and the comments were flooded with racist trolls expressing their hateful opinions over the minute-long trailer. Users went as far as arguing that the movie is now “ruined'’ due to changes in Ariel’s skin color, claiming that it wouldn’t be the same.

Sadly, this wouldn’t be the first time that a Black actor has been bashed for being cast in a role traditionally characterized as a white person.

Steve Toussaint, an African American actor starring in “House of the Dragon,” caught a wave of backlash and racism from the “Game of Thrones” fandom due to him being cast as Corlys Velaryon, described in the books as pale skinned and purple eyed. Fans immediately expressed that he wasn’t fit for the role due to not matching the description that his character had in the book.

Some commenters have also expressed that Princess Tiana from the animated film “Princess and The Frog” should have her skin color changed from black to white if there were to ever be a live action adaptation. But unlike Ariel's story, Tiana's story is set in New Orleans, a predominantly African American city. Her skin color is significant to her character. In the movie, Tiana struggles to open a restaurant in the city due to her financial status, clearly drawing inspiration from the difficulty many Black Americans faced in the early 1900s. There is also a clear comparison between Tiana and her friend Charlotte, a rich white business man’s daughter with higher status and greater wealth. Ariel's character, however, has the opportunity to be a diverse character because her story does not center around the struggles of her skin color.

The hate that Black actors receive for playing the roles of fictional, and now mythical characters, is beyond absurd. Black people have only recently begun getting the proper representation in films that they deserve, yet time and time again, their hard work is overshadowed by the hate and negativity brought on by the tantrums being thrown online focusing on the color of their skin, and not their talent.

“The hatred Halle Bailey has been receiving for her new role in the “Little Mermaid’’ has been outrageous and unfair,’’ Santa Monica College (SMC) freshman Amir Moreno said. “I think that people who are filled with hatred will not want to watch the movie, but I hope that they do to see what an excellent and talented actress Halle is, and how the color of her skin has nothing to do with her ability to play the role that she earned.’’

Despite the controversy surrounding the trailer, other fans have found a way to bring a positive light to the film.

Excited mothers were quick to pull out their cameras and record their daughters’ reactions to seeing their favorite Disney princess now become a representation of themselves. Many little black girls can be seen jumping in excitement, on social media, as Bailey appears on the screen, exclaiming “she looks like me” while their mother captures the moment.

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