Hollywood star Melissa McCarthy has proudly revealed her character in Disney’s live-action version of The Little Mermaid has drag queen roots.
McCarthy plays evil sea witch Ursula in the upcoming remake.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the Bridesmaids and Nine Perfect Strangers star said she “100 per cent” drew inspiration from drag queens for her turn as the voice-stealing villain, before revealing her characterisation of Ursula goes even deeper than that because of what lives inside her.
“There’s a drag queen [who] lives in me. I’m always right on the verge of going full-time with her,” explained the star, whose career began in New York’s nightlife as drag queen Miss Y.
New look at Melissa McCarthy as Ursula in ‘THE LITTLE MERMAID’. pic.twitter.com/mlAEuoQOnG
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) April 4, 2023
McCarthy also revealed to Pink News she drew upon the sense of isolation she experienced at the height of the coronavirus pandemic – something she’s keen to replicate – while rushing to embrace her inner drag queen.
“To keep the humour and the sadness and the edginess to Ursula is everything I want in a character – and, frankly, everything I want in a drag queen.”
Despite McCarthy’s obvious enthusiasm for the production and her role in it, early viewing numbers are less supportive.
As Breitbart News reported, the first full trailer for The Little Mermaid is proving to be massively unpopular, garnering more than one million “dislikes” on YouTube less than a week after its unveiling during the recent Oscars.
Left-wing activists, including Disney star Josh Gad, blame “MAGA racists” for the overwhelmingly negative reaction while neglecting to mention similar trashings have befallen other remakes, including last year’s live-action Pinnochio and 2016’s female-centric Ghostbusters.