‘The Little Mermaid’ makeup artist slams ‘ridiculous’ criticism of Ursula’s look

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A ‘The Little Mermaid’ makeup artist has called a “very offensive” reaction “ridiculous” his work on the look of Melissa McCarthy’s character Ursula in the live-action remake.

Oscar-winning makeup artist Peter King brushed off criticism from several drag queens who questioned why Disney hadn’t hired a queer artist to work on makeup for a character who, according to Alan Menken – composer of the original film – was inspired by John Waters. movie star and iconic drag queen Divine.

“I find that very offensive. Why can’t I do such a good job as a queer makeup artist? King told Insider.

“It’s ridiculous. It’s trying to claim it and that’s fine, if that’s what they want to do, but don’t put people down because they’re not what they want it to be. either.

King’s comments come after Disney shared a video of King applying makeup to McCarthy, a clip that drag queen Sierra La Puerta questioned on Twitter earlier this month.

“Now when we said Ursula was inspired by a drag queen, we weren’t talking about someone who had only been doing it for 3 months BCE,” La Puerta wrote.

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ star Kerri Colby, in response to fellow drag queen Denali’s comment on the clip, as well as ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under’ star Art Simone also weighed in on King’s work on the film.

King, who claimed his design of the look was not “based on Divine,” added to Insider that he “personally” doesn’t get the criticism.

“Yes, I’m very old now, so it’s okay, I understand that too, but, you know, a makeup artist or a makeup artist could design makeup, they don’t have to be attached to the nature of what they’ I do,” King said.

The artist went on to say that he spoke with McCarthy about his design and that it “wasn’t based on flirting at all.”

McCarthy, who once starred as drag queen Miss Y in New York City, told Deadline earlier this month that she’s been a huge drag fan since she was a teenager and frequently watches “The Little Mermaid ” from 1989.

“I was a nanny and we used to watch it every night. And I always said, ‘I know for a fact – but I couldn’t prove it – that it had to be based on Divine’ , McCarthy said.

“She just had to be. I was like, ‘the makeup, the look, the attitude.’ And now we know yes, she was of course based on Divine.

She also told Entertainment Weekly last month that she “100%” used drag as inspiration for her role.

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