Melissa McCarthy is made up as Ursula (Photo: Disney/Twitter)
The hair and makeup artist who worked with Melissa McCarthy on The Little Mermaid has responded to criticism of his work.
British artist Peter Swords King is a veteran of the industry with 42 years worth of experience.
Disney’s “live-action” The Little Mermaid is based on the beloved 1989 animation of the same name. It dominated theaters over the Memorial Day weekend and is on course to take around $120 million at the US box office by the end of today.
The sea witch Ursula in the original animation was partly inspired by the late drag performer, Divine. Melissa McCarthy has talked of the comparison and spoken of her love of drag.
Because of this, some modern-day drag queens have voiced disappointment over Ursula’s look in the new movie. The New York-based Sierra La Puerta posted a photo of McCarthy as Ursula, quipping, “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-”
Kerri Colby, who was featured in RuPaul’s Drag Race season 14, responded to a clip on Twitter, saying, “Absolutely why we should hire up and coming queer artists with a pulse on the present and a vision for the future more often. Yes I agree, this is that.”
– absolutely why we should hire up and coming queer artists with a pulse on the present and a vision for the future more often. Yes I agree, this is that.
“I find that very offensive,” he said. “Why can’t I do as good a job as a queer makeup artist?”
“That’s ridiculous. That’s trying to claim it and that’s fine, if that’s what they wanna do, but don’t put people down because they’re not what they want it to be,” he added.
King’s resume includes Lord Of The Rings (for which he won an Oscar in 2003) and Mary Poppins, plus lots of theatre work. He said he met Divine in the late 1980s, but his Ursula work did not take inspiration from the late Baltimore legend.
“I personally don’t get it. Yes, I’m very old now, so that’s fine, I get that too, but, you know, a makeup artist or makeup designer could design makeup, they don’t have to have an attachment to the nature of what they’re doing,” he added.
He said he and McCarthy did discuss a mutual appreciation for drag queens.
“We discussed everything. I mean, we both laughed about how much we love drag queens and drag makeup and stuff. But it wasn’t based on any drag acts at all,” he said.
King also said he wasn’t directly inspired by the 1989 movie, either.
“No, no. It was me. I didn’t really draw on anything. I played around quite a lot with different colors, different shapes, and stuff,” he said. “It just was sort of Melissa and I talking and creating. So I didn’t really draw on anything at all.”
Besides facing some backlash for his work, he said working on The Little Mermaid was a hugely positive experience with a “lovely crew, lovely cast.”
Little Mermaid box office
The Little Mermaid is on course to be the fifth biggest Memorial Day Weekend opening in the US ever. It also picked up $68.3 million internationally. Variety notes it will need to continue to do good business for some time as it cost a whopping $250 million to make.
The only market where it appeared to flop was China, where it took fifth place at the box office and only took $2.5 million. Its performance has reawakened debate in the country around the casting of Black actress Halle Bailey in the lead role. Movies with black leads have traditionally performed poorly in China.
This weekend, WeHo Pride announced that McCarthy would be one of its ‘Icons of Pride’, alongside, “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” Laith Ashley, Niecy Nash-Betts and Jessica Betts. It singled out McCarthy for its “Ally Icon”, for her outspoken allyship and celebration of the LGBTQ+ community.
Between sexy Flounder and the muscled mermen, we’re starting to think it really is better down where it’s wetter.
Don't forget to share:
Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...
We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock Queerty articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?
Asa. society how did we become so stupid and triggered. This is the absurd. Drag Queens or Trans people don’t own make up and who can apply it. I hate hate hate that as a gay man I have to be lumped into this. I won’t even attend gay pride anymore because of what it’s become. Get out of my lane!
It’s drag queens having opinions about make-up. They probably know more about make-up than you and I do, so it’s possible that their criticisms are valid. I don’t think anyone is “triggered”.
Maybe so, and I think this award winning make up artist is good at making pretty/beautiful make-up.
Ursula shouldn’t be pretty, she should be uncanny and unheimlich. She’s a sea witch.
This make-up is polished and technically tight, but boring as hell. I don’t think it’s such a surprise that someone who looks like Bianca Del Rio is going to have an opinion about plain makeup.
@Gabby. Here’s some fun news about our favorite drag queen of all! Now this is news we can use! Who does HER make-up?
Madonna to kickstart her upcoming twelfth concert tour, ‘The Celebration Tour,’ in July 2023
By Web DeskMay 27, 2023
Madonna is set to make headlines with her highly anticipated Celebration tour during which she plans to get arrested to fulfill her aim to create controversy.
The Material Girl hitmaker wants to get locked up in hopes of creating the “highlight of her career” after her biopic starring Julia Garner was cancelled earlier this
As reported by Radar Online, the Queen of Pop is planning to get arrested on-stage while performing with “drag queens in Tennessee.”
“Madonna still knows how to press people’s buttons and enjoys it!” the insider said. “She knows her success has as much to do with her ability to shock as with her talent.”
“And that’s why she’s preparing to be arrested while performing with drag queens in Tennessee, where they have laws about it,” the insider added. “To be slapped in cuffs onstage would be the highlight of her career.”
Madonna was nearly arrested during her Blonde Ambition tour back in 1990s for simulating an inappropriate act while singing Like A Virgin.
During her performance in May 1990, law enforcement warned the singer ahead of her concert at Toronto’s SkyDome to not repeat the inappropriate actor or she would get arrested.
“I’m not changing my (expletive) show,” she responded to the agency at the time.
The Pope also told his followers to not attend any of her show amid heated controversy as he labeled the concert “one of the most satanic shows in the history of humanity.”
Speaking about the issues which arose during the tour, Madonna revealed last year that police had threatened to “arrest me three times” during the set of shows.
“Police threatened to arrest me three times as I traveled around the world performing ‘Like a Virgin’ during the Blonde Ambition tour,” she wrote on Instagram.
OMG how do I delete my own original comment. My comment was just as triggered as the triggered people I was complaining about. Shame on. me as there was probably a more reasonable way of expressing my feelings. I am embarrassed.
This headline is expertly crafted to start arguments between the two sides of the cultural division. Q, are you trying to contribute to the polarisation?
Only one tweet mentions “up and coming queer artists”, the others just say the makeup is boring.
Now, I don’t know a thing about fashion, but compared to the terror that was animated Ursula, this does look boring.
The movie’s a hit, pulling in over $118 million at the box office, despite predictions about its likely failure because it was “woke,” blah blah. These critics have the right to air their opinions, but they sound like they’re just looking for something to complain about.
The movie cost between $200million and $250million to make, and that’s not including marketing the film which would add another $40,000,000, and that’s just an estimate based on how much they spent marketing the movie for Oscar consideration, which was $10,000,000. This means the movie must make at least $750,000,000 to be considered a success.
We’ll have to see how much the film makes internationally.
What’s funny is that one group of people who are upset about a character being changed are being called monsters! But another group of people who are upset about a character being changed are just trying to maintain the integrity of the original. hmmm…
Bosch, That’s fine. Your opinion is valid, but other people’s aren’t. Can’t someone be disappointed because they wanted the “live” movie to mimic the original cartoon as close as possible? Is everyone who’s disappointed with the change a racist or maybe they’re disappointed that a childhood memory is being changed? Personally I could care less but people can be disappointed for a number of reasons and the cheapest shot to take is “oh! that makes you a racist.” I thought you, being European, can be a bit more nuanced than the cut and dry “Good” vs “Evil” type of thinking here in North America.
If you think Europeans are not ”cut and dry in thier thinking” then you’ve never been to or know anything about Europeans. Another blanket statement from this shaver GOP TROLL.
Oh, big words, ad hominem…..wow, impressive. FYI you deserve to be attacked……..people like you are annoying and common and very uptight and right wing. Please hang out where your views are welcomed. Gay men have no use for you. You’re trying to be sooooooooooooooo progressive. It’s hysterical.
Kangol2, I know it’s opening weekend. Live action Aladdin’s domestic opening weekend was $116.8million but if you factor in the international figures, it bumps the global debut to $214.7million. Little Mermaid’s global debut only comes to $163.8million. It’s not doing well.
Where is this supposed and hominem attack? I reworded your opinion so that you could see how racist it sounds. I wasn’t suggesting that it was a direct quote. Your message is right there, who am I going to fool by misquoting you?
Bosch, This was your comment to me:
“What’s funny is that one group of people who are upset about a character being changed are being called monsters! ”
Look at this. Drumming up sympathy for a bunch of racists. I guess you’ve just abandoned all subtlety?
ShaverC that’s not an ad hominem attack. That’s a description of what you were doing. Comparing complaints about a girl’s race to complaints about a make-up job.
Bosch, That’s absolutely ad hominem, look up the definition. The point I was making in that (partial) quote of mine is that one group of people were upset with one character’s change, and another group of people were upset with a different character’s change. Instead of addressing that, you accused me of “drumming up sympathy for racists” which is something I did not state.
You do not address the comment I made, but you made it personal and questioned my integrity.
You also purposely left out the second part of my quote in an attempt to make it seem I was implying something I wasn’t.
A bad make up job isn’t a character change, it’s just bad make up. You were trying to make it seem like it’s just as serious as complaining about a girl’s race.
And again, you’re insisting that they’re equal.
I didn’t call you names, I described what you were doing and said it wasn’t subtle. As in, we can see that your doing you’re best to make the “left” or the “woke” look like hypocrites, while pretending that the racists were just concerned about narrative integrity.
Ariel’s skin colour is not part of the narrative.
Let me be more clear. One group of people was complaining about an unchangeable biological characteristic of an actress. The other group of people are complaining about a paint job.
And let me remind you that the people complaining about the makeup are very few, yet the people who complained about black Ariel were flooding the internet with racial hate for months, so much so that we even know how upset the Americans were about it over here in Europe.
Bosch, Do you think everyone who was disappointed with the Ariel change is automatically racist? Could a white girl with red hair who loved the cartoon because she saw herself in it be disappointed because now that has changed? Or is she a racist too?
And just because you think one change is more important then the other doesn’t make it so. From what I’ve red people wanted a harsher Ursula in this movie and Melissa McCarthy doesn’t have the same fear factor as in the cartoon. You seem to dismiss arguments or opinions that you think are frivolous or that you feel take away from your own argument instead of explaining yourself.
I love when people pull numbers out of air and decree a film has to make this amount or it’s not successful. It started off well and like most movies, it depends on whether it has good holds the next few weeks. Guardians of the Galaxy 3 was declared a bomb first week and it’s just passed $300 million domestic and $730 million WW.
Yes. Being disappointed that a version of a character is not the right race is racist. If Ariel’s skin colour was a plot point, there could be a literary justification. But there isn’t. People are mad that she’s not white. And these complaints weren’t coming from Little Mermaid fans, they were coming from older white males on twitter, 9gag, and the hellhole previously known as 4chan.
Let me give you position as plainly as I can:
Complaining about a girl’s race is wrong. Complaining about a make-up artist’s gender or sexuality is wrong.
Complaining about make-up is incredibly mild.
People are complaining about make-up. The tweet suggesting the makeup artist should be a young queer person was a tweet from a young queer person. You don’t have to be a psychologist to understand their motivation.
That the artist was interviewed through the framework of “you should have been queer”, and that Queerty is presenting the issue in the same manner, is for no purpose other than generating outrage-clicks. And look, it worked! Half the commenters here are outraged.
This isn’t a woke-vs-conservative, left-vs-right, gays-vs-straights issue. This is people calling Melissa’s make-up boring. Not everything is political, and beauty and art are subjective.
White Ariel still exists. Now black Ariel also exists. Nothing is lost.
Bosch, Ok, I see you continue to change what I said. I asked if a little white girl with orange hair identified with the cartoon Ariel and then was disappointed that the character’s changed so she no longer identifies with it is racist. You then changed my argument to “Complaining about a person’s race” I didn’t say that.
Now, without changing what I said, do you feel the little girl outlined above, is racist?
Yes. Yes, she’s being racist. She’s being disappointed in someone’s race. White Ariel still exists. Black Ariel also exists. Now there’s an Ariel for white girls to identify with, and an Ariel for black girls to identify with.
This imaginary white girl has plenty of white Disney princesses, the imaginary black girl has one black Ariel and one frog princess. And mind you, the frog princess spent 90% of the movie being green instead of black.
Is it ok that a drag queen is disappointed that this make-up artist isn’t a drag queen? No, it’s not ok. It’s exactly the same thing: discrimination.
It’s not Ariel’s job to be white.
It’s not the make-up artist’s job to be queer.
I feel I need to repeat again, explicitly: I do not agree with the sentiment that the make-up artist should have been queer or a drag queen. I watch drag race, I know that being a drag queen does not at all guarantee make-up skills.
Zoom out for a moment: you remember The Wiz? People were upset about that too, and yet the Dorothy that we all remember is Judy Garland. And to a lesser extent, Fairuza Balk.
When new version of a character are black, they don’t replace the white version. They add to the completeness of that character’s human archetype. You wanna see white Dorothy, you can. You wanna see black Dorothy, you can. Nothing is erased.
Bosch, I agree that people who are disappointed in something like this could just concentrate on the original, but that doesn’t automatically make someone racist.
Disney’s Princess and the Frog, featuring a black princess, was a hit, why didn’t the racist audience stay home for that one?
The problem isn’t so much people’s private disappointment, the problem is people who went online to accuse the movie of being “woke”, complain that mermaids “can’t be white”, send threatening tweets to the actress, and review bombing the movie for no reasons other than a black main character.
You know as well as I do that fans of The Little Mermaid cartoon weren’t the ones waging war against this movie. Discrimination is one of the themes of the little mermaid, and the moral of the Disney version was that love overcomes all differences.
The moral of the original fairy tale was that you shouldn’t change yourself to please a man. A much better moral, if you ask me.
And I stand by it, the hypothetical white girl with red hair is being racist in her disappointment.
We all have internalised racism to deal with, I’m not condemning this imaginary girl. What’s important is whether or not we let our prejudices guide our belief systems and the way in which we treat people.
Bosch, I’ll give you that, racists did stay away from that Princess & Frog… but my point, maybe badly made, was that the movie was still a hit.
Internalized racism? All of us? Or just white people?
Bosch, Ok, you’re too far down the rabbit hole. It’s not racist to have a preference. Once you let go of this “internalized” racism/homophobia/etc, I think you’ll be a much happier person. Having an internalized anything is like original sin… it’s not real.
Do the hard work, work your way up, and break a sweat and maybe you too can do make-up for a movie. Singing Madonna into a brush while wearing your mother’s make up does not count as experience.
This is the sort of crap that makes me embarrassed to be a gay man.
WTAF has a person’s sexuality or gender got to do with whether or not they’re allowed to apply makeup?
Surely it’s about ability and skill?
Should heterosexual makeup artists only be allowed to a practice their craft on subjects who are straight?
Should the lead in the film only be played by a real mermaid?
The original little mermaid was not a person of colour…hell, is Ms Bailey guilty of ‘whiteface’?
The ageist bigotry is mind-boggling…
OzMarco, You’re right, and I completely agree with you. People like abfab and Bosch constantly contradict themselves if you read their comments. It’s a double standard they seem proud to portray.
”people like…..” oh you are such a republican bullshit artist….you’re gross and boring and common. You give your assholism away with every word you type. Take a break.
If only abfab and bosch had the ability to be embarrassed! It might cut down on their silly ad hominem attacks.
Shaver is right in that extremists like abfab and bosch seem to contradict themselves at every turn (with a gloriously fascist flair). Like most people here, I’d rather be inspired than threatened.
You can do it guys… just leave the extremism to the Republicans. Mirroring the worst like tRump, Santos and Desantis doesn’t help anyone – but those Republicans!
Bosch: do you really think that being a drag queen makes you a makeup artist? No, attacking professional makeup artists for NOT being drag queens is a silly attack.
Then you created this false quotation… “My childhood memories are ruined because this new movie doesn’t have an all-white cast!” That was YOU, No one else said that. You cast racist attacks and aspersions. Stop the nonsense of creating division where none exists. Does that make you feel special?
Bosch and abfab are so self-centered that they can’t stand others having opinions about makeup. Such arrogance!
I don’t know who’s message you’ve been reading, bit nowhere did I attack the make-up artist for not being a drag queen. I also think that’s stupid: discriminating against people because of their sexual orientation is wrong in all cases. Read my original comment again, the one that starts with “This headline is expertly crafted to start arguments between the two sides of the cultural division.”. I don’t believe at all that the make-up artist should have been queer. I just think he should have been a bit edgier and less pretty about it.
As for my “false quotation”, I was imitating the people who complained about Ariel’s skin colour, because those were the people that ShaverC and I were discussing.
I’m still waiting for you to show where I’m being hateful or divisive. It seems that you just took ShaverC’s complaint about me and ran with it, without actually looking at my opinions. You wanna see division, bring up trans people. That’ll expose who in this forum is hateful and divisive.
PS – kinda silly to complain about ad hominem attacks, but then call me, and others, names in two separate posts.
Bosch, it’s called “lying”, which you seem quite willing to do. It was YOU who wrote ““My childhood memories are ruined because this new movie doesn’t have an all-white cast!”. That was Bosch, no one else even comes close to your level of repugnant personal attacks. Please read your actual comments – racist and ad hominem attacks included.
I had no idea that a drag queen bitching about not the getting the job as a union make up artist on the film would actually make a sub-sub headline … Drag queens pretty much are famous for bitching about how everything everywhere could have looked better if they would have done it about everything all the time. You tube and Tie Tok are filled with them. This is a non story what a 0.2 percent thinks ( of the 10 percent )of a market doesn’t mean squat to what the other 90 percent are doing which is spending money to see this well made movie.
Oh, for God’s sake, WHO CARES? With all the shit happening to wipe out the LGBTQ+ community around this country, we’re bitching about the makeup on a fantasy character not being done by a gay man? No wonder so many people don’t take us seriously or honestly think we’re in danger.
It’s the kind of article to get people upset over nothing, really.
Your main point is great, though: Repug state legislatures across the US have introduced over 100 anti-LGBTQ bills over the last year, you have people want to “eliminate” trans people from public life, you have Uganda passing an extreme law that includes the death penalty for certain types of gay sex acts, and so on. It’s serious stuff Queerty could be covering but they often do not.
Bosch “sweetheart+, you volunteered yourself as the object of Neoprene’s comment with great acumen. We can see YOU quite clearly. You should try to see yourself through the same lens you view others – the difference is astounding.
Ok Ronbo. You’re gonna complain about people being hateful and divisive, and then side with a homophobic troll who only comes to Queerty to offend people?
I’m getting very suspicious about who you actually are. You made a big deal about my supposed “ad hominem attacks” (of which you could provide no examples), but if I search your comments under articles the past few days, guess what I find? Guess what I find, Ronbo? Turns out this isn’t the first time this week you decide to attack individuals.
I spy, I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with “H”.
Bosch, “My childhood memories are ruined because this new movie doesn’t have an all-white cast!” is a lie that you propagated. Only BOSCH said that. Do you understand that projecting your anger, fear and hate upon others is a personal attack? It’s an ad hominem attack that BOSCH fabricated. Attacking the character of individuals with FALSE quotations is repugnant
No one really cares about you; I care because you are spreading hate, division and lies which make the community look pathetic. Stop it, please.
Anyone else notice that if you don’t agree with 100% of “Boschism” you must be an “H”?!!? How many comments? How many lies?
Bosch should know that “Hero” starts with H. Speaking the truth is what a hero does. That’s certainlyt not Bosch – he fabricates quotes to attack others.
When Bosch is quoted in an actual. verifiable ad hominem lie – a false quote, he claims it’s an “ad hominem” attack against him!?! Just like tRump, Bosch believes that his lies and deceptions as supreme over the actual truth that is printed on this page.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
ShaverC
People are upset because there isn’t a drag queen in a movie… makes sense.
Bosch
No, people are having opinions about make-up.
mastik8
Facepalm. The stupid is beginning to hurt.
Gabby
Asa. society how did we become so stupid and triggered. This is the absurd. Drag Queens or Trans people don’t own make up and who can apply it. I hate hate hate that as a gay man I have to be lumped into this. I won’t even attend gay pride anymore because of what it’s become. Get out of my lane!
Bosch
It’s drag queens having opinions about make-up. They probably know more about make-up than you and I do, so it’s possible that their criticisms are valid. I don’t think anyone is “triggered”.
ShaverC
Bosch, I think an award winning make up artist knows more about make up than a drag queen.
Bosch
ShaverC
Maybe so, and I think this award winning make up artist is good at making pretty/beautiful make-up.
Ursula shouldn’t be pretty, she should be uncanny and unheimlich. She’s a sea witch.
This make-up is polished and technically tight, but boring as hell. I don’t think it’s such a surprise that someone who looks like Bianca Del Rio is going to have an opinion about plain makeup.
splunky
You won’t attend Pride because some drag queens on Twitter have opinions on how crappy the makeup looks on McCarthy? lol
abfab
@Gabby. Here’s some fun news about our favorite drag queen of all! Now this is news we can use! Who does HER make-up?
Madonna to kickstart her upcoming twelfth concert tour, ‘The Celebration Tour,’ in July 2023
By Web DeskMay 27, 2023
Madonna is set to make headlines with her highly anticipated Celebration tour during which she plans to get arrested to fulfill her aim to create controversy.
The Material Girl hitmaker wants to get locked up in hopes of creating the “highlight of her career” after her biopic starring Julia Garner was cancelled earlier this
As reported by Radar Online, the Queen of Pop is planning to get arrested on-stage while performing with “drag queens in Tennessee.”
“Madonna still knows how to press people’s buttons and enjoys it!” the insider said. “She knows her success has as much to do with her ability to shock as with her talent.”
“And that’s why she’s preparing to be arrested while performing with drag queens in Tennessee, where they have laws about it,” the insider added. “To be slapped in cuffs onstage would be the highlight of her career.”
Madonna was nearly arrested during her Blonde Ambition tour back in 1990s for simulating an inappropriate act while singing Like A Virgin.
During her performance in May 1990, law enforcement warned the singer ahead of her concert at Toronto’s SkyDome to not repeat the inappropriate actor or she would get arrested.
“I’m not changing my (expletive) show,” she responded to the agency at the time.
The Pope also told his followers to not attend any of her show amid heated controversy as he labeled the concert “one of the most satanic shows in the history of humanity.”
Speaking about the issues which arose during the tour, Madonna revealed last year that police had threatened to “arrest me three times” during the set of shows.
“Police threatened to arrest me three times as I traveled around the world performing ‘Like a Virgin’ during the Blonde Ambition tour,” she wrote on Instagram.
“The Vatican canceled all my shows in Rome!
Gabby
OMG how do I delete my own original comment. My comment was just as triggered as the triggered people I was complaining about. Shame on. me as there was probably a more reasonable way of expressing my feelings. I am embarrassed.
Bosch
This headline is expertly crafted to start arguments between the two sides of the cultural division. Q, are you trying to contribute to the polarisation?
Only one tweet mentions “up and coming queer artists”, the others just say the makeup is boring.
Now, I don’t know a thing about fashion, but compared to the terror that was animated Ursula, this does look boring.
splunky
100%
Kangol2
The movie’s a hit, pulling in over $118 million at the box office, despite predictions about its likely failure because it was “woke,” blah blah. These critics have the right to air their opinions, but they sound like they’re just looking for something to complain about.
Bosch
Racist and homophobic adults were never the target audience for The Little Mermaid, I don’t know why they thought their boycott would leave a dent.
ShaverC
The movie cost between $200million and $250million to make, and that’s not including marketing the film which would add another $40,000,000, and that’s just an estimate based on how much they spent marketing the movie for Oscar consideration, which was $10,000,000. This means the movie must make at least $750,000,000 to be considered a success.
We’ll have to see how much the film makes internationally.
Bosch
I wouldn’t worry, Shaver. If a hot mess like Aladdin can make a billion, then I’m pretty sure this one will do ok.
ShaverC
What’s funny is that one group of people who are upset about a character being changed are being called monsters! But another group of people who are upset about a character being changed are just trying to maintain the integrity of the original. hmmm…
Bosch
“What’s funny is that…”
No one is upset, Shaver. People are having an opinion about boring make-up.
That’s not at all the same as a bunch of white supremacists throwing a fit about the skin colour of an actress.
How telling that you’d try to equate the two.
Bosch
“What’s funny is that one group of people who are upset about a character being changed are being called monsters! ”
Look at this. Drumming up sympathy for a bunch of racists. I guess you’ve just abandoned all subtlety?
ShaverC
Bosch, That’s fine. Your opinion is valid, but other people’s aren’t. Can’t someone be disappointed because they wanted the “live” movie to mimic the original cartoon as close as possible? Is everyone who’s disappointed with the change a racist or maybe they’re disappointed that a childhood memory is being changed? Personally I could care less but people can be disappointed for a number of reasons and the cheapest shot to take is “oh! that makes you a racist.” I thought you, being European, can be a bit more nuanced than the cut and dry “Good” vs “Evil” type of thinking here in North America.
abfab
If you think Europeans are not ”cut and dry in thier thinking” then you’ve never been to or know anything about Europeans. Another blanket statement from this shaver GOP TROLL.
ShaverC
abfab, I’m first generation here, guess where my parents came from?
abfab
Save it.
Bosch
ShaverC
“Your opinion is valid, but other people’s aren’t.”
Stop pretending that complaining about an actress’ skin colour isn’t racist.
“My childhood memories are ruined because this new movie doesn’t have an all-white cast!”
ShaverC
Bosch, Of course you quote is really a lie, if you can’t argue the validity of what I said then you make an ad hominem attack.
abfab
Oh, big words, ad hominem…..wow, impressive. FYI you deserve to be attacked……..people like you are annoying and common and very uptight and right wing. Please hang out where your views are welcomed. Gay men have no use for you. You’re trying to be sooooooooooooooo progressive. It’s hysterical.
Kangol2
ShaverC, that’s $118 million for the opening weekend. But good to see you practicing your math!
ShaverC
Kangol2, I know it’s opening weekend. Live action Aladdin’s domestic opening weekend was $116.8million but if you factor in the international figures, it bumps the global debut to $214.7million. Little Mermaid’s global debut only comes to $163.8million. It’s not doing well.
Bosch
@ShaverC
Where is this supposed and hominem attack? I reworded your opinion so that you could see how racist it sounds. I wasn’t suggesting that it was a direct quote. Your message is right there, who am I going to fool by misquoting you?
ShaverC
Bosch, This was your comment to me:
“What’s funny is that one group of people who are upset about a character being changed are being called monsters! ”
Look at this. Drumming up sympathy for a bunch of racists. I guess you’ve just abandoned all subtlety?
Bosch
ShaverC that’s not an ad hominem attack. That’s a description of what you were doing. Comparing complaints about a girl’s race to complaints about a make-up job.
ShaverC
Bosch, That’s absolutely ad hominem, look up the definition. The point I was making in that (partial) quote of mine is that one group of people were upset with one character’s change, and another group of people were upset with a different character’s change. Instead of addressing that, you accused me of “drumming up sympathy for racists” which is something I did not state.
You do not address the comment I made, but you made it personal and questioned my integrity.
You also purposely left out the second part of my quote in an attempt to make it seem I was implying something I wasn’t.
Bosch
ShaverC
A bad make up job isn’t a character change, it’s just bad make up. You were trying to make it seem like it’s just as serious as complaining about a girl’s race.
And again, you’re insisting that they’re equal.
I didn’t call you names, I described what you were doing and said it wasn’t subtle. As in, we can see that your doing you’re best to make the “left” or the “woke” look like hypocrites, while pretending that the racists were just concerned about narrative integrity.
Ariel’s skin colour is not part of the narrative.
Let me be more clear. One group of people was complaining about an unchangeable biological characteristic of an actress. The other group of people are complaining about a paint job.
And let me remind you that the people complaining about the makeup are very few, yet the people who complained about black Ariel were flooding the internet with racial hate for months, so much so that we even know how upset the Americans were about it over here in Europe.
Yes, one of those groups is behaving monstrously.
ShaverC
Bosch, Do you think everyone who was disappointed with the Ariel change is automatically racist? Could a white girl with red hair who loved the cartoon because she saw herself in it be disappointed because now that has changed? Or is she a racist too?
And just because you think one change is more important then the other doesn’t make it so. From what I’ve red people wanted a harsher Ursula in this movie and Melissa McCarthy doesn’t have the same fear factor as in the cartoon. You seem to dismiss arguments or opinions that you think are frivolous or that you feel take away from your own argument instead of explaining yourself.
Toofie
I love when people pull numbers out of air and decree a film has to make this amount or it’s not successful. It started off well and like most movies, it depends on whether it has good holds the next few weeks. Guardians of the Galaxy 3 was declared a bomb first week and it’s just passed $300 million domestic and $730 million WW.
Bosch
ShaverC
Yes. Being disappointed that a version of a character is not the right race is racist. If Ariel’s skin colour was a plot point, there could be a literary justification. But there isn’t. People are mad that she’s not white. And these complaints weren’t coming from Little Mermaid fans, they were coming from older white males on twitter, 9gag, and the hellhole previously known as 4chan.
Let me give you position as plainly as I can:
Complaining about a girl’s race is wrong. Complaining about a make-up artist’s gender or sexuality is wrong.
Complaining about make-up is incredibly mild.
People are complaining about make-up. The tweet suggesting the makeup artist should be a young queer person was a tweet from a young queer person. You don’t have to be a psychologist to understand their motivation.
That the artist was interviewed through the framework of “you should have been queer”, and that Queerty is presenting the issue in the same manner, is for no purpose other than generating outrage-clicks. And look, it worked! Half the commenters here are outraged.
This isn’t a woke-vs-conservative, left-vs-right, gays-vs-straights issue. This is people calling Melissa’s make-up boring. Not everything is political, and beauty and art are subjective.
White Ariel still exists. Now black Ariel also exists. Nothing is lost.
ShaverC
Bosch, Ok, I see you continue to change what I said. I asked if a little white girl with orange hair identified with the cartoon Ariel and then was disappointed that the character’s changed so she no longer identifies with it is racist. You then changed my argument to “Complaining about a person’s race” I didn’t say that.
Now, without changing what I said, do you feel the little girl outlined above, is racist?
Bosch
ShaverC
Yes. Yes, she’s being racist. She’s being disappointed in someone’s race. White Ariel still exists. Black Ariel also exists. Now there’s an Ariel for white girls to identify with, and an Ariel for black girls to identify with.
This imaginary white girl has plenty of white Disney princesses, the imaginary black girl has one black Ariel and one frog princess. And mind you, the frog princess spent 90% of the movie being green instead of black.
Is it ok that a drag queen is disappointed that this make-up artist isn’t a drag queen? No, it’s not ok. It’s exactly the same thing: discrimination.
It’s not Ariel’s job to be white.
It’s not the make-up artist’s job to be queer.
I feel I need to repeat again, explicitly: I do not agree with the sentiment that the make-up artist should have been queer or a drag queen. I watch drag race, I know that being a drag queen does not at all guarantee make-up skills.
Bosch
ShaverC
Zoom out for a moment: you remember The Wiz? People were upset about that too, and yet the Dorothy that we all remember is Judy Garland. And to a lesser extent, Fairuza Balk.
When new version of a character are black, they don’t replace the white version. They add to the completeness of that character’s human archetype. You wanna see white Dorothy, you can. You wanna see black Dorothy, you can. Nothing is erased.
ShaverC
Bosch, I agree that people who are disappointed in something like this could just concentrate on the original, but that doesn’t automatically make someone racist.
Disney’s Princess and the Frog, featuring a black princess, was a hit, why didn’t the racist audience stay home for that one?
Bosch
The racist audience did stay home for that one.
The problem isn’t so much people’s private disappointment, the problem is people who went online to accuse the movie of being “woke”, complain that mermaids “can’t be white”, send threatening tweets to the actress, and review bombing the movie for no reasons other than a black main character.
You know as well as I do that fans of The Little Mermaid cartoon weren’t the ones waging war against this movie. Discrimination is one of the themes of the little mermaid, and the moral of the Disney version was that love overcomes all differences.
The moral of the original fairy tale was that you shouldn’t change yourself to please a man. A much better moral, if you ask me.
Bosch
And I stand by it, the hypothetical white girl with red hair is being racist in her disappointment.
We all have internalised racism to deal with, I’m not condemning this imaginary girl. What’s important is whether or not we let our prejudices guide our belief systems and the way in which we treat people.
ShaverC
Bosch, I’ll give you that, racists did stay away from that Princess & Frog… but my point, maybe badly made, was that the movie was still a hit.
Internalized racism? All of us? Or just white people?
Bosch
Everyone of course, not just white people.
And also not just for other races: I don’t consider myself racist, yet I find myself swiping left on guys I share a certain heritage with.
And we’ve all seen a certain political figure who likes throwing her own race under the bus to please the bigots.
The first step to defeating ones racism is recognizing it. Just like with internalised homophobia.
ShaverC
Bosch, Ok, you’re too far down the rabbit hole. It’s not racist to have a preference. Once you let go of this “internalized” racism/homophobia/etc, I think you’ll be a much happier person. Having an internalized anything is like original sin… it’s not real.
Paris in Santiago
I just think the make-up job is so basic, so blah – for such a deserving Disney villian brought to life.
smittoons
“Why can’t I do as good a job as a queer makeup artist?”
We’re all wondering the same thing.
daveku69
Do the hard work, work your way up, and break a sweat and maybe you too can do make-up for a movie. Singing Madonna into a brush while wearing your mother’s make up does not count as experience.
Just.my.opinion
This is a really stupid topic of conversation.
abfab
Par for the course……
OzMarco
This is the sort of crap that makes me embarrassed to be a gay man.
WTAF has a person’s sexuality or gender got to do with whether or not they’re allowed to apply makeup?
Surely it’s about ability and skill?
Should heterosexual makeup artists only be allowed to a practice their craft on subjects who are straight?
Should the lead in the film only be played by a real mermaid?
The original little mermaid was not a person of colour…hell, is Ms Bailey guilty of ‘whiteface’?
The ageist bigotry is mind-boggling…
abfab
It’s tabloid fodder Oz….and you sure are easily embarrassed.
Bosch
“This is the sort of crap that makes me embarrassed to be a gay man.”
You’re falling for the clickbaity title. People aren’t complaining that the make-up artist is straight, they’re complaining that he did a bad job.
ShaverC
OzMarco, You’re right, and I completely agree with you. People like abfab and Bosch constantly contradict themselves if you read their comments. It’s a double standard they seem proud to portray.
abfab
”people like…..” oh you are such a republican bullshit artist….you’re gross and boring and common. You give your assholism away with every word you type. Take a break.
Ronbo
If only abfab and bosch had the ability to be embarrassed! It might cut down on their silly ad hominem attacks.
Shaver is right in that extremists like abfab and bosch seem to contradict themselves at every turn (with a gloriously fascist flair). Like most people here, I’d rather be inspired than threatened.
You can do it guys… just leave the extremism to the Republicans. Mirroring the worst like tRump, Santos and Desantis doesn’t help anyone – but those Republicans!
Bosch
@Ronbo
Where is this ad hominem attack that I’ve made?
Ronbo
Bosch: do you really think that being a drag queen makes you a makeup artist? No, attacking professional makeup artists for NOT being drag queens is a silly attack.
Then you created this false quotation… “My childhood memories are ruined because this new movie doesn’t have an all-white cast!” That was YOU, No one else said that. You cast racist attacks and aspersions. Stop the nonsense of creating division where none exists. Does that make you feel special?
Bosch and abfab are so self-centered that they can’t stand others having opinions about makeup. Such arrogance!
Bosch
I don’t know who’s message you’ve been reading, bit nowhere did I attack the make-up artist for not being a drag queen. I also think that’s stupid: discriminating against people because of their sexual orientation is wrong in all cases. Read my original comment again, the one that starts with “This headline is expertly crafted to start arguments between the two sides of the cultural division.”. I don’t believe at all that the make-up artist should have been queer. I just think he should have been a bit edgier and less pretty about it.
As for my “false quotation”, I was imitating the people who complained about Ariel’s skin colour, because those were the people that ShaverC and I were discussing.
I’m still waiting for you to show where I’m being hateful or divisive. It seems that you just took ShaverC’s complaint about me and ran with it, without actually looking at my opinions. You wanna see division, bring up trans people. That’ll expose who in this forum is hateful and divisive.
PS – kinda silly to complain about ad hominem attacks, but then call me, and others, names in two separate posts.
Ronbo
Bosch, it’s called “lying”, which you seem quite willing to do. It was YOU who wrote ““My childhood memories are ruined because this new movie doesn’t have an all-white cast!”. That was Bosch, no one else even comes close to your level of repugnant personal attacks. Please read your actual comments – racist and ad hominem attacks included.
What are you overcompensating for?
BLAKENOW
I had no idea that a drag queen bitching about not the getting the job as a union make up artist on the film would actually make a sub-sub headline … Drag queens pretty much are famous for bitching about how everything everywhere could have looked better if they would have done it about everything all the time. You tube and Tie Tok are filled with them. This is a non story what a 0.2 percent thinks ( of the 10 percent )of a market doesn’t mean squat to what the other 90 percent are doing which is spending money to see this well made movie.
Bosch
Anything for outrage-clicks.
KyleMichelSullivan
Oh, for God’s sake, WHO CARES? With all the shit happening to wipe out the LGBTQ+ community around this country, we’re bitching about the makeup on a fantasy character not being done by a gay man? No wonder so many people don’t take us seriously or honestly think we’re in danger.
Kangol2
It’s the kind of article to get people upset over nothing, really.
Your main point is great, though: Repug state legislatures across the US have introduced over 100 anti-LGBTQ bills over the last year, you have people want to “eliminate” trans people from public life, you have Uganda passing an extreme law that includes the death penalty for certain types of gay sex acts, and so on. It’s serious stuff Queerty could be covering but they often do not.
Seth
Yes, this is pretty low on the meter of things that matter.
Yes, the makeup looks like it was done by an amateur for Halloween, using only their feet.
Both can be true.
Neoprene
LGTBQIA$$HOLES love being the victim in any and every situation.
Bosch
Sweetheart, having an opinion about make-up isn’t victimization.
What are you a victim of, that you’re so intent on getting revenge by trolling Queerty?
Ronbo
Bosch “sweetheart+, you volunteered yourself as the object of Neoprene’s comment with great acumen. We can see YOU quite clearly. You should try to see yourself through the same lens you view others – the difference is astounding.
Bosch
Ok Ronbo. You’re gonna complain about people being hateful and divisive, and then side with a homophobic troll who only comes to Queerty to offend people?
I’m getting very suspicious about who you actually are. You made a big deal about my supposed “ad hominem attacks” (of which you could provide no examples), but if I search your comments under articles the past few days, guess what I find? Guess what I find, Ronbo? Turns out this isn’t the first time this week you decide to attack individuals.
I spy, I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with “H”.
Ronbo
Bosch, “My childhood memories are ruined because this new movie doesn’t have an all-white cast!” is a lie that you propagated. Only BOSCH said that. Do you understand that projecting your anger, fear and hate upon others is a personal attack? It’s an ad hominem attack that BOSCH fabricated. Attacking the character of individuals with FALSE quotations is repugnant
No one really cares about you; I care because you are spreading hate, division and lies which make the community look pathetic. Stop it, please.
Ronbo
Anyone else notice that if you don’t agree with 100% of “Boschism” you must be an “H”?!!? How many comments? How many lies?
Bosch should know that “Hero” starts with H. Speaking the truth is what a hero does. That’s certainlyt not Bosch – he fabricates quotes to attack others.
When Bosch is quoted in an actual. verifiable ad hominem lie – a false quote, he claims it’s an “ad hominem” attack against him!?! Just like tRump, Bosch believes that his lies and deceptions as supreme over the actual truth that is printed on this page.
Such arrogance wouldn’t make tRump blush either.