The petitions calling to recast Ariel as a white woman are racist and sheer white supremacy, cloaked in the guise of nostalgia and “fairness” for all races. The legacy of theater and movies is white people frequently being cast in the roles of people of color. What is truly “fair” is giving people of color the opportunity to play characters that have typically been portrayed as white. In the original Hans Christian Andersen story, the character of “Ariel” is not named, nor portrayed as white or red-headed. In fact, she’s green. Much literary liberty has been taken by Disney when bringing their versions of fairytales to the screen. They have anglicized many characters and sanitized the violent aspects to make their movies more appropriate for kids. They have also, more recently, made great strides in creating movies that are more inclusive and balanced in many aspects. Casting Halle is another great step.