'13 Reasons Why' Star Christian Navarro Cries Discrimination Against Disney
Finally, the long wait is over. Disney has found the right Prince Eric for Ariel in the live-action remake of "The Little Mermaid."
However, Christian Navarro was not too thrilled to find out who it was.
The "13 Reasons Why" star took to social media to share his thoughts about Disney's decision to choose a Prince Eric for Ariel when he found out it was not him. Jonah Hauer-King was joining the cast as the male lead in the upcoming live-action remake of the classic tale.
Navarro was blunt and did not hold back his words.
The Search For Prince Eric
After several months of wondering who Prince Eric was going to be, Disney finally released the name of their final decision.
In Entertainment Weekly, on November 12, Disney confirmed that the British actor Jonah Hauer-King was chosen to play the coveted role. Many highly credited actors tried out for the role, including Christian Navarro.
The thrill is finally over now that everyone knows who will play Prince Eric in the film, but not everyone is excited to know that King got the role.
Shortly after Disney made the official announcement, Navarro, who apparently was also in the talks of playing the role, lashed out on social media how Disney once again decided to take the "white guy" for the role. He emphasized that many men of color auditioned for the role and yet the "white guy" prevailed.
In his Instagram story, Christian Navarro wrote, "Literally @disney saw a list of actors of color and STILL went for the white guy." It came with a picture of Jonah Hauer-King. The post is no longer available on the platform.
Navarro Calls Disney for Blatant Discrimination
Navarro then continued to call on Disney for the blatant discrimination in its decision, pointing out that choosing two brown leads would mean tanking the movie. Halle Bailey was chosen to play the role of Ariel. The announcement of her playing the iconic role was made in early July.
Navarro reactivated his official Twitter account and continued to rant about the casting issue. He said that after months of an extensive search for the role, with a number of actors of color who auditioned for the role, somehow, Disney still found itself a "white guy" is suited for the role.
"I guess diversity is just a word. And THAT'S Hollywood!" Navarro's post read.
Since the post, Navarro has not said a word about Disney's casting decision. He also deactivated his Twitter account.
Although this is not the first time that an actor has been turned down for a role, Navarro became hopeful that Disney would try out something different for its live-action remake of a classic film.
Choosing an African-American singer-actress for the female lead has fueled that hope. And yet, Disney clearly had other plans in mind.
