TikTok’s “WOC of the month” hate trend
In April 2024, TikTok creators learned of Disney’s plans to make a live action version of the animated film Tangled. This announcement excited people, as “Tangled” is one of Disney’s very well-received princess films.
This excitement did not last long. Upon hearing rumors of the possible casting, fans were infuriated. American actress Avantika Vandanapu had a recent role in the musical adaptation of Tina Fey’s Mean Girls (date), which gave her a rise in popularity among teenage viewers. Her performance also provided more South Asian representation in popular culture. However, the popularity spiraled into increasing racial backlash with speculation that she would be playing Rapunzel in the live action adaptation of “Tangled.”
Before fact checking whether the movie was even happening, TikTokers jumped to conclusions and continued their longtime complaint of Disney’s choice of changing the characters’ race in their live action films. This can be seen in their recent adaptation of the Little Mermaid, with their choice to cast Halle Bailey and the upcoming Snow White film starring Rachel Zegler.
Following the announcement of Disney’s decision to cast Halle Bailey, people argued that Ariel is supposed to be white and have perfect red hair. After Disney would not change the casting, some stated that if Ariel could be black then Tiana could be white, failing to understand that the plot of “Princess and the Frog” revolves around Tiana’s identity as a black woman, while Ariel is a mermaid who falls in love with a human.
With the casting decision of Rachel Zegler, people made a similar argument saying that Snow White is supposed to have “skin as white as snow” and began to racially comment on Zegler’s latina features. Additionally, in an interview, Zegler expressed that she took the role because she “needed a job,” similar to what Priscilla star Jacob Elordi said in an interview as well, as he too stated he took the role in need of a job. However, only Zegler received backlash further showing how fans of Hollywood will only ever point out the flaws of women of color in the industry.
The hate received from various people on the internet is something that is not only seen within Disney’s adaptations of their classic films, but in other films and TV series as well.
In 2016, after the announcement that Zendaya would be playing MJ in Sony’s Spiderman, she initially received hate because people claimed the casting to be inaccurate as Mary-Jane is a white woman in the comics. The wave of antagonism later died down following the second film, Spider-man: Far From Home, as people adored Zendaya and Tom Holland’s on screen chemistry.
In 2021, a Percy Jackson live action series was announced with Walker Scobell set to play the titular character and Leah Sava Jeffries as his friend/love interest Annabeth Chase. This casting decision received backlash as Chase was white in the books. The creator of the books and the series Rick Riordan called it racism, and Jeffries stated that once everyone sees her as Chase they will understand the casting decision. Once it came out, people did, as she-according to critics-portrayed Annabeth accurately to how the books wrote her. This shift in attitude demonstrates how fans will immediately jump to conclusions, as they were quick to say that Chase would not be the best fit for Annabeth due to her race, however they changed their opinion once they actually saw her as an actress. This is significant for both fans and actors, as it shows that pure talent is more valuable than just accuracy to book descriptions.
Although now people are defending and praising young WOC actresses like Bailey, Zegler, and Vandanapu, it does not erase the treatment they have under the spotlight. All actresses are unique and talented, and deserve their chance to prove to people they’ve got what it takes to make it in Hollywood.