The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Unpacking The Little Mermaid Backlash

Episode Date: May 26, 2023

The Daily Show covers the frantic backlash to the live-action ‘Little Mermaid,’ Netflix’s ‘Cleopatra’ and Amazon’s ‘Lord of the Rings.’See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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trolls. The actress Hally Bailey stars as Ariel in Disney's new live-action film, and she looks nothing like the animated Little Mermaid with red hair from the original 1989 classic. The trailer has received more than 1.5 million dislikes on YouTube. Then there are the ugly, racist tweets. The Little Mermaid is white, not black. Rarely people, we're doing this again? Huh? She looks nothing like they're, nothing like,

they both have the tail, huh? They both have the race. She looks nothing like her. How do I even know that she's a mermaid? Once again, a bunch of internet racist are upset that a fictional character is being played by a black person. And, thia, thia, thia, thi, th. th. thi, th. thi, th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, like, like, like, like, thi, like, like, like, like, like, like, thi, like, like, like, like, thi, like, thi, like, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi played by a black person. And honestly, I don't know what the big deal is. You guys realize that Nemo was black too, right? Yeah, yeah, that whole movie was about a fish who can't find his dad. Yeah. Calm down, calm down. I can say that because my dad left and he's white, so who's racist now? This is so ridiculous. First of all, of course the Little Mermaid is black, everyone whose name starts with Lil is black. Lil Wayne, Lil Nazzex, Lil Kim. Honestly, if you heard that there was a woman named Little Mermaid, you just assume

that she's on a track with Cardi B. You know with my wet-ass flippers. So look, stop being ridiculous. It's imaginary. You know, I hope this scandal doesn't overshadow the rest of the movie. The little mermaid is a beautiful story about a young woman changing her core identity to please a man. Let's not forget about that people. Well, look, if we had more time, we could talk about how Disney already created a black mermaid

30 years ago and nobody cared, or how there's still plenty of white princesses for little girls whose dream it is to be in a monarchy. And let's not forget, you can still watch the original little mermaid. It's not like if you try to turn it on, Mickey's gonna jump out of the screen and be like, you're racist, ha! But we don't have time time time time time thia! But thia! But th... But we don't have time time time time time time time time time time. But we. But, but we th. But, but we th. But, but we their. But, but we their. But, but we their, but we their, but we. But, but we their, but, but, but we their, but we there, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh. But, there. But, there. But, there. But, there. But, there. But, there. But, there. But, there. But, there. But, there. But, there. But, there. But, there. But, there. But, but, but, but, there. But, but, but, there. But, there. there. there. there. there. there. there. there. there. there. there. there. there. there. there, there, there, there, there's there's there's there's there, there's there's there's there. there. there. there. there. there. therethese, like, internet, outrage things happens about which character is being played by whom and people get angry, I would get it if people had good faith arguments, but you can tell that people are just using these moments to disguise a discriminatory idea and like, like, you know, a racism that they hold. You know, it's like, it's your thing.

You know, people are gonna act like, oh no, the little mermaid, I'm here because I'm a little mermaid, purist. I, uh, I, I can come up with all these bullshit answers. They'd be like, you know, you look at the history of the little mermaid? Yeah, I mean if you look at it, it's like, yeah, if you were a fan, you would have known that Disney have long created Black Mermaids.

Like they did this, they spin off all their movies, they've had tons of them, they had like a black mermaid, she did sign language, used to be a cartoon when we were kids. People don't care about it. They're like, it's, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's, it's like, it's, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it's th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. they's thi. they's they's they's they's they's they's they're like, like, like, they're like, like, like, it's they's, it's not about race, it's just about realism. I'm sorry, what? And then it's ironic that they try and use representation as the argument the other way around, you know? So they will say, it's not about representation. Shouldn't, who cares who plays the role? All that matters is the best person. And it's like, have you heard, Hallie Bailey sing? Have you heard her sing? You're gonna talking the best person? Like, who do you think they got for?

You think Disney is just out there in the street like you, come, let's go. You think they play games like that. It is the best person for the job. You angry about who the best person was. That's what you're angry about. And it's like, no, but the little mermaid she means so much. And I don't deny that. I don't deny that it must have been amazing for any red-haired little girl to see the little mermaid. It must have been amazing. It's a beautiful experience. But the movie's still there. You get a beautiful. You get to say, it's not gone. You get to go. You can't not watch. the the little curls with red hair. It is it. It is it is it is it is it is it is it is it is it is still it is still it is still it is still. It is still. It is still. It is still. It is still. It is still. It is still. It is still. It is still. It is still still still. It's their their their their their their their their their their to be to be to to to to to to to to to to to their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their th. It's their th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's, but what about the little girls with red hair who want, who want what, see themselves in what?

A Disney cartoon? Like, are you being serious right now? You have the princess and brave, she was red hair, remember her? You have, you have Anna from Frozen, right? You have a little kid from up, you know, like their their head does a thing? It's the cutest thing, it's like, pff, ah, remember that? Red hairs, there's tons, tons of other characters.

There are more red-haired Disney like stars, like women who are stars in the franchise, than black women. But now you're going to make it seem like it's... And it's not like one should be against the other. There's no need. You have the little mermaid. It's fun. Now you've got Harry Playing the real version of it. That's fun. Don't make it about realism.

Guys, it's under the sea. There's a crab. There's a crab that is going to talk. I just think it should be aggrieved. And then I love when people go, oh yeah, so if you don't care, then how would you feel if the Black Panther was played by a white guy? I'm like, well, the difference here is the black panther. Blackness is central to the character's identity. Like, literally, literally.

You know what I mean? That is the whole point of the thing. And by the way, if you're going to bring a white guy who's going to be like, Vibrenian, bring him, I want to see that guy. Just for fun. Just bring that guy. Just for the fun of it. Let's see what happens. There are many people who haven't seen themselves on screen.

You're going to get angry because somebody who's black is now playing that role you're going to be... The original is still there. There are many parts that are still out there. It's not like there is nothing left. It's not like there's one movie in the world and there's one story and this is the only way you can tell it. There are many. Calm down. Or at the very least, the very least, she'd get them to get get get get get to get to get to get to get the way. Just be back. Until somebody kisses you, yeah, don't come back. You're ready?

People are so angry. You're then to go touch grass, man. Finding great candidates to hire can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. You might get a lot of resumes, but not enough candidates with the right skills or experience. But not with Zip Recruiter. Zip Recruiter finds amazing candidates for you fast. And right now you can try it for free at Zip Recruiter's Smart Technology identifies top tal you post your job, Zip Recruiters powerful matching technology starts showing you qualified people for it and you can

use Zip Recruiter's pre-written invite to apply message to personally reach out to your favorite candidates and encourage them to apply sooner. Ditch the other hiring sites and let Zip Recruiter find what you're looking for, the needle in the haystack. Four out of five employers who post on Zip Recruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. Try it for free at this exclusive web address. Zip Recruiter.com slash zip. Again that's Zip Recruiter. The smartest way to hire. Let's move on to another compass black woman, Cleopatra. And don't tell me she wasn't black. I'm already hearing enough of that from Egypt.

Well, the folks in Egypt are accusing Netflix of misrepresenting history in Netflix's new docusears series called Queen Cleopatra. Yeah, the country is actually criticizing the decision to cast a black woman to play the title role in series reenactments. Netflix says the casting decision was intended to acknowledge a centuries-long conversation about the rulers race and the multicultural history of Egypt. But officials in Cairo are calling it a blatant historical fallacy, claiming that Cleopatra was fair-skinned and of Greek descent. Oh, okay. Egypt is concerned about historical accuracy.

I didn't hear you complaining when all the mummy movies came out. Okay, Egypt is concerned about historical accuracy. I didn't hear you complaining when all the mummy movies came out. We got mummies coming back from the dead, chasing Brendan Frazier, and y'all don't have a problem. And then a black woman plays Cleopatra, and all of a sudden it's like, oh, ah, ah, that didn't happen, that didn't happen, no. The mummy, that was real, this, uh-uh. Like, what are the Egyptians so afraid of? You think Cleopatra is going to turn your history into a black exploitation film? You think she's going to be cruising

down the Nile in a Cadillac yelling, freeze, jive turkeys, this is my pyramid now? So, okay, you can have Cleopatra, but then we get Jesus. I mean, it's only fair. We all know Jesus was black because he was found guilty in court. And he did nothing wrong. And since we're talking about representation, let's talk about what mermaids really look like. And I'm not talking about Miss Haley. No, there's a new controversy about a statue that some people say is too damn sexy.

I mean, look at that there. You got mermaid to stallion over here. This is the first statue where every time you walk up it plays body, outy, outy, outy, adie, adie. Now, look look if you want to give me a mermaid with some big old titties that's fine with me but where it gets confusing is that ass come on we all know fish don't have an ass it allady to sculptor figured out too late that he couldn't do legs. He messed him up so bad he had to just pivot it to a mermaid on the fly. And that's just not any ass.

That mermaid is working with certified cakes. You hear me? I'm talking full bakeries, all right? Even Sir Mixelot is like, you know what? This is too far for me. Anyway, if you want to see more of the young ladies, you can check out her account on Only Fins. their thin. Amazon Prime Video has announced that its new, Lord of the Rings prequel series,

is its most watched program ever With more than 25 million viewers checking out the show on his first day Yeah, but it turns out some of those people might be hate watching Amazon is suspending reviews of its new Lord of the Ring series on rotten tomatoes. It says the 72-hour hold is to make sure the reviews for rings of power are legit and prevent internet trolls from bringing down their score,..... their. their. their. their. their. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. toe. toe. toe. toe. to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to................. to, to, to, to, to, to, to, their, their, their, their, the. their, the. the. the. their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their. thea. thea. thea. thea. t. t.to make sure the reviews for rings of power are legit and prevent internet trolls from bringing down their score. Amazon says reviews are being dragged down by fans who are upset about the show's diverse cast which includes black actors playing elves and dwarves. These viewers say it's unrealistic for Tolkien's creatures to be non-white. Yeah, I'm not going to lie. This is a tough one. I mean on the one hand. On the one hand, everyone, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's the, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it. This is a tough one. I mean, on the one hand,

everyone wants diversity in the shows that we create. But on the other hand, you gotta admit, it's a bit unrealistic to say that there were black people in this white guy's imagination, you know? I mean... I can get on board with a show or a world where magical creatures cost spells and fight undead armies for control of a piece of jewelry that can turn them into gods, but if those creatures have a tan, it's just not believable anymore. It really isn't. No, for real.

This is so hypocritical. You're gonna get mad about seeing a black dwarf in Lord of the Rings, but you're fine with seeing a Kevin Hart movie. Be consistent! He's so tiny. Also, by the way, I don't understand why people are this angry. It's not like all the characters turn black. There's one black dwarf, a couple of black elves.

It's not like the NBA, calm down. You know, it's the same way people were losing their shit because of the one black guy in House of Dragons. You know, people losing them, oh, well, it only takes one to lower the property values, you know. The House of Dragon used to be worth $400,000. Now I don't know anymore. And I know what people are saying. People are saying that the books are supposed to be based on medieval Europe, so having black characters isn't realistic. But guys, nobody's watching Lord of the Rings for realism, okay? They're watching it because they didn't have sex in high school. That's the only reason. It's not realistic.

I won't say this, I will say this. Apart from the racism thing, I kind of agree. I don't think it makes sense to have black characters in Lord of the Rings. Yeah, I said, the whole series is about seeing danger and then running towards it. That's some white people shit. Yeah! Like, the reason there were no black people shit. The reason, the reason there were no black people in middle earth is because they saw the giant eye talking out of a volcano and they were like, oh hell no.

We are moving to Africa because this shit here, uh-uh, no, no, we do not need to be here. We're going to Africa, we're totally safe. All right, that's it for the headlines, but before we go to a break, it, we're their, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it's their, it's their, it's to their, it's to to to to to their, to to to to to to to to to to to to to to, to, to, their their, their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, th. And, th. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, their, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, t to me, to me, to me, to me, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, we're totally safe. All right, that's it for the headlines, but before we go to a break, it's time to check in on all the latest social media trends with our very own. Ronnie Chang, everybody! Oh, yeah! Yeah! Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Thank you. Alright, you guys ready? Are you guys ready for the social media? You guys ready to hear some social media? Yeah! Alright, yeah, yeah. You guys ready to lose a few IQ points? I'm not gonna steal it! All right, first up, what's the trending is? Lot of the rings, or as I like to call it, Game of Thrones without the incest. I mean, look, I know we're

supposed to be woke any woke on this show, you know, elf diversity, stop, mortal hate or whatever, but look, can we just give this one to white people, all right? Let's diversify the real places first, and then we can worry about the white fantasy places later, okay? That being said, where the fuck are the Asians? Okay, because... Middle Earth, Naniah, the West Wing, no Asians? No Asians? No Asians. The closest thing we have to Asians in American fantasy is Spock in Star Trek. Okay? Yeah, he's Asian. I know he's white, but he's Asian. Okay, he's super smart, he dresses like an emperor. He's got a bowl hair cut and he knows the pressure points in the neck, right?

Live long and prosper. He even talks like Confucius. Okay, I just want to see some Asian elves. Explore more shows from the Daily Show from the Daily Show podcast universe by searching the daily show where you get your podcast. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11 10 Central on Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Fairmount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast.