Paloma Faith called out after slamming The Little Mermaid live-action movie

31 May 2023, 18:01

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By Katie Louise Smith

Paloma wrote: "Wtf is this shit. Not what I want to be teaching next gen women at all."

British singer and actress Paloma Faith is currently facing some criticism after she blasted The Little Mermaid over what its storyline could potentially be teaching young kids.

The brand new live-action version of The Little Mermaid is currently flying high at the box office, with people falling in love with Halle Bailey's iteration of the character and her perfect chemistry with Prince Eric actor Jonah Hauer-King.

Plenty of changes have been made to the 2023 version in order to update the film's overall message, including the removal of one of Ursula's manipulative verses in 'Poor Unfortunate Souls' and some 'Kiss The Girl' lyrics to better emphasise consent.

But that hasn't stopped some critics from voicing their thoughts, including Paloma Faith who is now being called out for her comments.

In a now deleted Instagram story, Paloma shared praise of Halle's performance as Ariel after seeing the movie, but then added that the idea of Ariel 'giving up her voice for a man' is not something she wanted her young children to believe is okay.

Paloma wrote: "Just seen the new little mermaid with my kids, and while I think Halle gives a good performance and it's great casting, as a mother of girls I don't want my kids to think it's ok to give up your entire voice and your powers to love a man."

"Wtf is this shit. Not what I want to be teaching next gen women at all," she added.

Fans were quick call out Paloma for her comments, mainly because the new film is pretty much the same as the original 1989 animated version – the very same version she once previously tweeted about, wishing she was Ariel.

Shortly after Paloma's Instagram post, people found an old tweet from 2009 where Paloma wrote: "when i grow up i want to be the little mermaid."

"It’s literally the same plot as the original what—," one user wrote. Drag Race's Juice Boxx also responded: "….has she never seen the original…?" A third person added: "1. did she see the first movie? 2. did she even see this one?"

Others (including Scream actor Mason Gooding) also jumped in to point out that The Little Mermaid is not about Ariel giving up her voice and leaving the ocean for a man, it's first and foremost about her wanting to live in the human world to find herself and her purpose, which is made even more clear in the new live-action version.

Speaking to Edition about the changes in the 2023 version, Halle Bailey said: "I’m really excited for my version of the film because we’ve definitely changed that perspective of just her wanting to leave the ocean for a boy."

"It’s way bigger than that. It’s about herself, her purpose, her freedom, her life and what she wants. As women we are amazing, we are independent, we are modern, we are everything and above. And I’m glad that Disney is updating some of those themes."

Later, Halle clarified her comments, adding: "In the original story those themes & qualities about ariel were always there..you will just see more of that side of her in our film i think. I’m not against falling in love y’all duhh hello lmao."

Read more about The Little Mermaid here:

• The new Little Mermaid removes Ursula's iconic "body language" verse
• The Little Mermaid remake changes lyrics in two iconic songs to emphasise consent
• The Little Mermaid's Halle Bailey almost "broke her neck" filming Ariel's iconic hair flip
• The Little Mermaid director slams racist backlash towards Halle Bailey's casting
• The Little Mermaid's Halle Bailey explains why keeping her locs as Ariel was important

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