c’s post was also flooded with negative comments.
New York:
Avantika Vandanapu, the 19-year-old Indian-American actress best known for her role in “Mean Girls,” has been rumored online since she will be starring in the live-action version of the hit Disney movie. She has been the subject of racist backlash since the princess rumors emerged. “Tangled.”
Many TikTok users posted videos expressing their disappointment with the South Asian actress playing the princess.
One TikTok showed a white woman crying, with the caption: “I’m pretending the little girl in me isn’t so upset by the casting of live-action Rapunzel.” Another user said if Ms. Wanda Knapp She wanted to cancel Disney’s plans to star in Rapunzel because she was not of German descent.
The actress’ Instagram posts were also flooded with negative comments from people who said they would never accept her as Rapunzel.
“What I’m trying to say is that you are absolutely not suitable for the role of Rapunzel, stop trying to change the princess!” one comment said. “Stop being Rapunzel, you’ll ruin my childhood okay?” said another.
The backlash is similar to what happened when Halle Bailey played Ariel in “The Little Mermaid.” #NotMyAriel began trending on Twitter in response to Bailey’s choice to play the mermaid princess. While the actress has spoken out against racist trolls criticizing her role in the film, saying the black community needs more representation on screen, Ms. Vandanapp has yet to react to the trolls.
But South Asian fans have come to Ms. Wanda Knapp’s defense, pointing out that the actress has not yet been confirmed to play Rapunzel. There are currently no live-action adaptations of Tangled being considered.
One user wrote: “Did you know that a live-action Tangled movie hasn’t been confirmed yet??? And even Avantika would be the only best choice for Rapunzel.”
Another said: “People need to stop hating this poor Indian girl because of rumors. So what if she plays Rapunzel? White women have been replacing Indian women in Indian films for decades.”
Others commented “my rapunzel” under her social media post.
