David Draiman has a lot of thoughts on politics, society, music and other topics if you follow him on social media. The controversy over Disney casting a Black actress to play the lead role in a live-action take on the classic animated film, The Little Mermaid, was addressed by him.
“If you have a problem with someone dark skinned playing the role of a fantasy creature like the ariel themermaid, you’re not really worried about keeping true to the original story, you’re just being
Draiman was referring to those who have made veiled statements since Disney announced that actress and singer Halle Bailey would be in the lead role, saying that the choice is not in line with the original depiction.
The conversation took on a life of its own again last week when Disney released the trailer for the film.
Bailey has focused on the positive reactions to her casting in the movie, sharing a reel of reaction videos to her account on September 12 of young Black girls who have been delighted in seeing her in the starring role The fact that I get to represent all of these little black and brown boys and girls who are to come is really special to me because I know that if I had that when I was younger, it would have changed my entire perspective on life.
In a piece for “The Daily Show,” the host of “The Daily Show” addressed the backlash. CNN posted a rebuttal to every racist comment.
After a time when he was so discouraged by social media that he deleted his account, Draiman is still vocal about socio- political matters. There are also music moments that he shares, such as a retweet today celebrating the 20th anniversary of the second album by the band.