Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your…black hair? Recently on the popular social media app, TikTok, a video went viral in which the content creator chose actors they thought would make for good casting in Disney’s forthcoming “Tangled” live-action movie.
In the video, Milo Manheim, a famous actor known for his appearance in the “Zombies” movie series, was hypothetically fan-cast as Flynn Ryder, while Avantika Vandanapu, another famous actor who’s most known for her appearance in the 2024 musical “Mean Girls,” was fan-cast as Rapunzel. The internet has gone insane over this hypothetical casting and sent rumors swirling, bringing up underlying issues of racism and discrimination against South Asians.
The well-known Disney version of Rapunzel, originated from Grimm’s Fairytales, in which the princess is described as having long, luscious, golden hair. In the Disney animated adaptation, Rapunzel has emerald green eyes and the same golden hair that played a key role in the story, in which Rapunzl’s evil stepmother, Mother Gothel, uses her hair to climb up the tower where Rapunzel is locked up. She is locked in this tower because her hair has magical properties that can heal and rejuvenate the wounded and old, and Mother Gothel uses Rapunzel’s abilities to keep herself young. While her hair color does play a significant role in the story, her skin color does not, which is the issue that has caused such an uproar online.
Issues like this have come up before, such as the live-action version of “The Little Mermaid,” where African American actress Halle Bailey was cast. Bailey and Disney received a lot of backlash for casting a person of color as Ariel because the original animated character is a pale girl with red hair. Many argued that this was a misrepresentation of the beloved character, while others argued that it was good representation of a community that is often undermined. History is repeating itself with this “Tangled” fan-casting kerfuffle. In the same way that Bailey received racist comments and backlash online, Vandanapu has been facing the same treatment, only in this situation it’s for something that is completely hypothetical.
Videos of people quite literally sobbing over the casting and comments featuring snide and racist remarks were spread throughout the internet. People’s main problem is that Vandanapu doesn’t look like Rapunzel. Vandanapu, a South Asian woman, has long, albeit black, hair, which is the reason why the fan had cast her as Rapunzel. I understand people being angry about her hair color since Rapunzle’s hair color plays a key role in the plot, but getting angry over her skin color is plain racist, which is worse when she is receiving hate and racism for something that isn’t going to be happening and is out of her control.
Under her Instagram pinned and most recent posts that are unrelated to the issue, Vandanpu has been receiving comments like, “I hate Disney, why does it cast dark-skinned actors?” and “[…] Rapunzel is supposed to be blonde and white. Period.” One comment even used a slur commonly used against the Black community to describe Rapunzel. It’s not just under her posts, but any posts relating to “Tangled” have their comment section filled with people arguing with each other about whether or not Vandanapu should be cast as Rapunzel, with many forgetting that this is FAN casting.
In many movies and media, people of color who have non-European traits are often portrayed as evil and morally bad characters, such as Jafar in “Aladdin,” who has traditionally Middle Eastern features, or Mother Gothel herself, who has curly black hair and a hooked nose, which is a common ethnic feature among many ethnicities. This seems to be the real issue in disguise, with many online stating that “Avantika would make a good mother Gothel,” who is also traditionally a white character. So truly, it’s not about her skin color, but the way that society views people of color.
I believe that if skin color doesn’t play a role in the story, then it doesn’t matter if the character’s race is different. Snow White from ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ is a perfect example of this. Her “snow white skin” plays a crucial role in the storyline and she is known for this characteristic, so if in the live-action the actor isn’t white, then it would be quite controversial. But for Rapunzel, her skin color was not a defining feature of her; her hair is. While it’s understandable to want to see an exact replica of one’s favorite childhood movie character come to life, getting so worked up over a fan casting of a person of color not exactly matching the color of a character says a lot about American society and how we view people of color.
