Disney has caught plenty of backlash for their new live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid. Now controversy is starting up once again as it’s been reported that Disney actually hired a gay adult film star to have a role in The Little Mermaid as a Merman.
This report, made via the Toronto Sun, revealed that the casting bosses on the film wanted “really sexy male models” to portray the Mermen in the film. This resulted in 24-year-old Stefano Tomadini getting hired to play a Merman. What those who cast him in The Little Mermaid allegedly didn’t know, however, is that he’s also gay adult film star Dante Ferrari.
As shared below by a source close to the production:
“Casting bosses decided to hire a number of really sexy male models to play mermen in the movie.
“They had no idea about Stefano’s racy videos and, given ‘The Little Mermaid’ is the big summer blockbuster for kids, it’s a bit embarrassing for Disney.”
Disney put a porn actor, Dante Ferrari, in #TheLittleMermaid and that’s when we know being “woke” at Disney has gone 360 degrees back to being offensive again. pic.twitter.com/Mp3BftXS4Q
— SedricAndre (@sedric_andre) June 14, 2023
Tomadini himself confirmed his involvement while sharing behind-the-scenes photos on Instagram. He wrote the following caption:
“Lifetime memories with lifetime friends.(sic)”
As of this writing, Disney has declined to comment. As such, it looks like adult viewers have a little something extra to notice when watching The Little Mermaid.
The new film was directed by Rob Marshall with a screenplay written by David Magee with a story penned by Magee alongside Rob Marshall and John DeLuca.
The film’s cast, in addition to Halle Bailey as Ariel, also includes Daveed Diggs as the voice of Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay as the voice of Flounder, Awkwafina as the voice of Scuttle, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Art Malik as Sir Grimsby, Noma Dumezweni as Queen Selina, with Javier Bardem as King Triton, and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula.
Fans can currently see the live-action take on The Little Mermaid in theaters. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for additional updates regarding The Little Mermaid and any other Disney updates as we have them.