Why “The Little Mermaid” Exposes the Left’s Hypocrisy and Double Standards

I have no interest whatsoever in a live action “The Little Mermaid.” I stopped caring about the ventures of Disney Princesses decades ago. Or even their lack of ventures in the early days, when Disney princesses were just passive waifs waiting for a man to save them, such as Snow White, who was saved from an eternal coma by a nonconsensual kiss from a total stranger.

But one of the things I notice is that the hooting and jeering directed at White people supposedly enraged over a Black actress playing the titular mermaid is a bit disingenuous. In fact, it’s outright hypocritical.

I could ask rhetorically if the Left would be similarly okay with traditional Black roles going to White actors. Are we okay with a White actress playing Storm of the X-Men? How about a live-action Frog Prince with a White actress playing Tiana (which, by the way, is not a traditional Black role, only originally cast as a Black character the first time Disney chose to do it)? Or a white actress playing Esmeralda in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”? A white Jasmine or Moana? Why the hell not?

But I don’t even need to speculate on the reaction from the outrage-addicts on the Left. We already have the proof. In 2017, it was announced that Mandy Patinkin was joining the cast of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812. Unfortunately for Patinkin, the role he was taking had previously been played by a Black man, specifically Okieriete “Oak” Onaodowan. Predictably, the resulting backlash causing Patinkin to step down. I wish just once someone would tell these crybullies to go to hell. This ultimately forced the show to close early, as Patinkin was hired to bring a name to the production, which was flagging badly in ticket sales. This, by the way, put other Black actors out of work, since Comet closed early.

And if you’re not impressed by this blatant hypocrisy, I haven’t even played my high card yet.

Before Onaodowan took the role in Comet, it was played by Josh Groban. So, Patinkin would not have been taking a traditional Black role, but a role that was originated by a White actor. So, apparently, not only do the double standards prevent White actors from taking traditional Black roles, but once a Black actor takes a role that was originated by a White actor, it becomes a traditional Black role and can never be played by a White actor again.

But this is all done in the name of “diversity.” It’s such a lovely-sounding term, isn’t it? It’s too bad that the Left refuses to call it what it is: White exclusion.