The '13 Reasons Why' actor says 'diversity is just a word' at Disney after the studio decides to hire Jonah Hauer-King to play the male lead in the Rob Marshall-directed remake.
- Nov 16, 2019
AceShowbiz - Christian Navarro was not happy with Disney's latest casting for "The Little Mermaid (2020)" remake. The "13 Reasons Why" actor didn't hold back as he took to Instagram and Twitter to criticize the Mouse House over the casting of Prince Eric.
The "Vinyl" star put the producers on blast for signing up "A Dog's Way Home" star Jonah Hauer-King to play the coveted male lead role. According to Navarro, a "white guy" has no business to play the love interest of Princess Ariel in the movie.
He posted a picture of Hauer-King on his Instagram Story with a scathing caption, "Literally @disney saw a who's who list of actors of colour and STILL went with the white guy."
"So much for diversity. I guess two brown leads would have tanked the movie right?" he sarcastically added while referring to Halle Bailey who was tapped to portray the heroine. "Boring," he concluded his post.
He wrote a similar message on Twitter, "Just came back to say; after months of seeing every person of colour they could think of for the role of Prince Eric, @DisneyStudios somehow still cast a white guy. I guess diversity is just a word. And THATS (sic) Hollywood. One brown person is enough, two brown leads is unthinkable."
The 28-year-old actor has since deleted his criticism on Instagram and deactivated his Twitter page. Neither Disney nor Hauer-King respond to his comments.
Before the official casting was announced, Harry Styles was rumored to be the frontrunner for the role of Prince Eric. However, the former One Direction member turned down the role.
Navarro later expressed his desire to audition for the role. He tweeted back then, "So I heard Harry Styles passed on Prince Eric, well... I can sing... no ones called but Season 3 (of 13 Reasons Why) drops next week and (I) think it's one hell of an audition (sic)."
In a follow-up tweet, he said Disney saw his post and welcomed him to send his audition tape. He excitedly told his followers, "They wanted to see what I could do. Tapes sent. Fingers crossed. Let's make some history... Let me know! @DisneyStudios."
The upcoming movie is directed by Rob Marshall. Javier Bardem joins the cast as Ariel's father, King Triton, Melissa McCarthy as the villainous sea witch Ursula, Jacob Tremblay as tropical fish Flounder, Awkwafina as seagull Scuttle, and Daveed Diggs as Sebastian the crab.
