Freeform, a cable channel owned by Disney, fought back against critics trying to prove that Ariel can't be black with a statement on Saturday.
"Yes, the original author of 'The Little Mermaid' was Danish. Ariel... is a mermaid," Freeform wrote in an impassioned post on Twitter and Instagram regarding the argument that the fable's original author Hans Christian Andersen's Danish ethnicity meant that Ariel couldn't be black.
"Danish mermaids can be black because Danish people can be black," Freeform said in response to people who were using the perceived ethnicity of the fictional character as reason against casting black actress Halle Bailey in the remake.
"But spoiler alert... the character of Ariel is a work of fiction," the channel concluded.
—Freeform (@FreeformTV) July 6, 2019
After news of Bailey's casting broke earlier this month, people were divided, with the hashtag #NotMyAriel quickly gaining traction.
Some felt that the casting of a black actress in a live-action remake of a classic Disney film was long overdue, and arguments that Andersen's ethnicity necessitates a white Ariel were seriously flawed.
—SixStarSerpentine 🎃 (@Carl53163296) July 5, 2019
—Lea Toft (@MuffinFanatic) July 5, 2019
—Michael Eklund (@MichaelEklund) July 5, 2019
Others pointed out Ariel is, of course, a fictional character — and a fictional creature at that.
—Wolfman Jack (@sillyGoofAss) July 9, 2019
—Alaysia Selvin (@AlaysiaDS) July 5, 2019
—angelique (@R0MANTICINPARIS) July 5, 2019
On the other hand, plenty of racist people attempted to use bogus science to argue that Ariel couldn't be black. Others attempted to use folklore as "proof" that the fictional character had to be white, something that was quickly debunked.
Read more: Racists are trying and failing to prove that mermaids can't be black using 'science'
In addition to Freeform, Jodi Benson, the original star of 1989's "The Little Mermaid," also voiced her support for Bailey on Saturday.
"I think the most important thing is to tell the story," Benson said to fans at a pop culture convention.
"We have, as a family, raised our children and for ourselves that we don't see anything that's different on the outside. I think that the spirit of a character is what really matters."
"What you bring to the table in a character as far as their heart and their spirit is what really counts," Benson continued.
