The excitement for Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid adaptation is everywhere on the internet. But when Disney posted a behind-the-scenes video of Melissa McCarthy’s transformation into Ursula the Sea Witch on Twitter, Gay-Twitter was quick with the reads.
In the video, Melissa McCarthy is in the makeup chair getting in sea witch drag but her transformation lacks the certain oomph needed to portray the iconic villain. Notably, the eyebrows do not match. Sisters? Twins? They’re not even cousins.
Melissa McCarthy becomes... #Ursula pic.twitter.com/OEcX2ccytp
— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) May 16, 2023
An unflattering screenshot of McCarthy’s Ursula quickly joined the ranks of Netflix’s Glow Up of bad drag memes.
It’s giving #TheLittleMermaid #Ursula pic.twitter.com/B3qGIuu2yO
— Kay Bye’s Top Rebirth Era (@TheOnlyKayBye) May 17, 2023
The villain / The real villain https://t.co/jivQex0EPy pic.twitter.com/3ufTeNoyyZ
— Coco (@_cocolique) May 17, 2023
dont let nicki see her https://t.co/YzRBCaerb3 pic.twitter.com/V0NmGBXmNI
— Saint Hoax (@SaintHoax) May 17, 2023
“That hair and makeup on Ursula is unforgivable. It’s disrespectful towards Divine. May they RIP,” said one user.
That hair and makeup on Ursula is unforgivable. It’s disrespectful towards Divine. May they RIP. https://t.co/y0QOAakbzs
— Drag Doll ♥️ (@DragDollCo) May 17, 2023
It's very important to note Ursula’s status in the queer community. Ursula’s likeness in the 1989 animated film is inspired by the drag queen, Divine. While Ursula is not a drag queen (she's an octopus!), many people expected the role to be played by a Drag Queen. Or, at the very least, with better makeup than this.
“Now when we said Ursula was inspired by a drag queen we didn’t mean one who had only been doing it for 3 months bc-” tweets drag queen Sierra La Puerta.
Now when we said Ursula was inspired by a drag queen we didn’t mean one who had only been doing it for 3 months bc- https://t.co/gOODRvVT4l pic.twitter.com/BvNSf4wdp4
— Sierra La Puerta (@_SierraLaPuerta) May 17, 2023
Jaremi Carey, who competed on two seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race, asked the hard-hitting question on Twitter, ” Who is the artist?”
Ppl saying ish about Melissa.....when Melissa isn't the issue here.....
— Jaremi (@JustJaremi) May 17, 2023
Who is this artist? https://t.co/j0AZxTU6az
McCarthy, who has dressed up as Divine before, talked about drag inspiring her performance in the film.
“I’ve been stealing from drag queens for years,” she said to the Hollywood Reporter.
Like many of the early criticism of The Little Mermaid, it seems the performances are amazing but the aesthetics are not as fantastical as the original version demands.
Where’s the sparkle? Where is the glitter? You have a universe where an Octopus sea witch exists, you can at least make her hair and makeup campy.
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