‘The Little Mermaid’ Hair And Makeup Designer Responds To Attacks That He Should Have Been Replaced By An LGBTQ Designer: “I Find That Very Offensive”
The Little Mermaid Hair and Makeup Designer Peter Swords King rejected calls for him to be replaced in the recently released live-action remake.
A number of drag queens took issue with King’s role in doing the makeup for Melissa McCarthy’s villain Ursula after Disney released a behind the scenes video showing McCarthy’s transformation.
Melissa McCarthy becomes… 🔮#Ursula🔮 pic.twitter.com/OEcX2ccytp
— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) May 16, 2023
One drag queen tweeted, “Now when we said Urusla was inspired by a drag queen we didn’t mean one who had only been doing it for 3 months bc-”
Another tweeted, “When you lie on your resume and end up with the job.”
Speaking with Insider, King said, “I find that very offensive. Why can’t I do as good a job as a queer makeup artist?”
He added, “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.”
King also made clear his makeup was not based on the drag queen Divine nor drag queens at all. Animator Rob Minkoff told Vogue that the drag queen inspired the villainous octopus in the original 1989 animated feature, “Divine seemed like such a great, larger than life character, and it just seemed like a funny and quirky idea to take [Ursula] and treat her more like a drag queen.”
King told Insider, “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 also made clear that he and McCarthy closely collaborated on the design, “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.”
YouTuber Ryan Kinel reacted to King’s comments saying, “When you try to pander to these lunatics who don’t actually care about entertainment, they only care about ‘Can I see myself in this person? Did you make this character queer? Did you make this character black? Did you make this character disabled? They don’t give a f**k about the story.”
He added, “They don’t actually go out and support this s**t. It’s been proven time after time after time. This is the audience that Disney wants. This is what Disney wanted. You have pushed away all the normal people in the world in order to pander to a group of weirdos. That’s what you have decided to do.”
“So now, here they are. You give them The Little Mermaid. You give them all this representation. You do these race swaps. You put all this agenda driven s**t in it … And because her makeup wasn’t done by someone who is gay, these people are upset. These people demand justice. These people freak the f**k out. It’s sad and it’s pathetic. But what else would you expect? More drama surrounding The Little Mermaid,” he declared.
King is correct in rejecting the criticism. The so-called LGTBQ community is not entitled to a job based on their decision to participate in a sinful lifestyle.
However, he is incorrect in glorifying drag queens because as Edwin Benson writes in Crusade Magazine, “Ultimately, illicit sexual behavior is still the result of choice.” We should not be glorifying illicit sexual behavior. The opposite should be done as was the case in the original animated The Little Mermaid, where the evil sea witch was inspired by a drag queen. The villainy is clearly depicted and taught as something to oppose.
What do you make of King’s comments?
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