29 May 2023 , 15:52
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The makeup artist who transformed Melissa McCarthy into Ursula for the live-action adaptation of Disney 's The Little Mermaid has addressed criticism over his involvement.
The actress, 52, plays the antagonist in the newly-released film and had her makeup for the iconic character done by Peter Smith King, who's worked in the industry for decades.
A timelapse video shared on social media earlier this month showed Melissa having her makeup applied on set and was met with criticism from some viewers over the look.
There was also criticism over the presumption that Peter isn't a drag queen nor a queer makeup artist, proving controversial as the animated Ursula was inspired by the late Divine.
Melissa McCarthy plays Ursula in the new live-action The Little Mermaid (@DisneyStudios)"You guys should have hired a drag queen for that makeup job," tweeted one person in response. Another said: "Why they not hired a drag queen for the makeup? It's crazy".
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The look was described as "horrible" and "a mess," with several people specifically mentioning the eyebrows. One person tweeted: "The eyebrows are the true villain".
Others said that if Disney didn't want to hire a drag queen to play Ursula, they could have included a drag artist do the makeup for the character in the new live-action film.
Sharing their thoughts, one person tweeted: "OMG that's a boring make up". They added: "Why [didn't they] hire a drag queen, if not for the role at least for the make up."
Her makeup for the role was done by Peter Smith King (Instagram)Peter addressed the backlash in an interview with Insider recently, telling the outlet that he disagrees with the criticism over Melissa's final makeup look as the character.
He said that he finds the backlash "very offensive" and commented about the situation during the interview: "Why can't I do as good a job as a queer makeup artist?"
He said it's "ridiculous" and added: "That's trying to claim it and that's fine, if that's what they wanna do, but don't put people down because they're not what they want it to be".
She plays the role in the new live-action adaptation of the Disney animated classic (Disney)
The animated character had been inspired by late drag queen Divine (Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)Peter said his design for Ursula wasn't based on Divine, although people behind the animated original have confirmed their version was inspired by the drag queen.
And further addressing the controversy in the interview, Peter said that makeup artists don't need to have "an attachment to the nature of what they're doing."
Peter said he "discussed everything" with Melissa, saying that they expressed a mutual love of drag queens and "drag makeup" whilst working together on The Little Mermaid.
A video of Melissa's makeup transformation was shared on social media this month (@DisneyStudios)He however added that his makeup wasn't based on "any drag acts at all" and said he didn't draw on anything particular, instead playing around with colours and shapes.
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Melissa has spoken about drag artists whilst promoting the film, including during an interview with Extra at the Los Angeles premiere earlier this month.
She told the outlet at the time "I have loved drag queens since I was in high school. It's one of the most joyful, irreverent, funny, fantastic sources of entertainment."
And she told Entertainment Weekly that she used drag as an influence for her portrayal of Ursula, with her telling the outlet: "There's a drag queen that lives in me".
The Little Mermaid is out now.