Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Mermaid controversies, shellebrity scandals and other mermaid news!
Live Action Little Mermaid is making waves
The new live action Little Mermaid movie sparked controversy with the choice to cast Halle Bailey, a black singer/songwriter and actress as Ariel. Despite the haters spreading racist commentary and memes, most of us mermaids were totally onboard with the casting. We were just so excited for a new mermaid movie, and a revision to one of our favorite childhood movies. Halle responded to the critics with poise and showed us that she wouldn't let them get her down. She proved to do an amazing job as Ariel! Little Mermaid (2023) is now available to stream on Disney Plus.
Sea witch strikes again!
She was once a beloved singer, brandishing messages about body positivity and inclusivity. But now Lizzo's reputation is in question as allegations come out against her from her crew members.
She had previously auditioned to play the role of Ursula, the seawitch in the new Little Mermaid. While she didn't get that role, she just may have turned out to be a bit of a witch.
Her backup dancers are alleging that working for Lizzo exposed them to racism and sexual harassment from white men, who ogled them while they were made to change in small spaces with little to no privacy.
Other staff members reported mistreatment from the wardrobe manager, who, allegedly, made fatphobic comments toward them, and even displayed aggressive behavior.
Most of the claims speak out against Lizzo's management, as opposed to just her.
Here is a quote from the lawsuit, describing the management's response to a male staff member sharing a picture of genitals in a group message: “Lizzo’s management found the image to be comical, further encouraging an unsafe, sexually charged workplace culture… a culture that has been nurtured and condoned by Lizzo,”
While Lizzo wasn't the perpetrator of most of the complaints, it is said that she turned a blind eye to them.
Aquamermaid posts banned in mermaid group
A Facebook group dedicated to spreading awareness about scammers in the mermaid community has finally decided to prohibit posts about the notorious mermaid company Aquamermaid. I’d been following the group and found it was exasperating seeing the same post over and over again about Marielle undercutting mermaids and giving out client’s person information.
I’ve always found the group Mermaids Beware: Scammers, Merverts and More to be interesting to keep up with, to see what’s going on in the mermaid community. They warn us of what to look out for. But it started to seem like almost every other post was about Aquamermaid. Recently, they shared the message that they would no longer be approving posts about Aquamermaid, along with some other names/companies.
I enjoyed the group but it was getting exhausting constantly being reminded of the negative experiences I had with the company. The only drawback is that with less mentioning of the shady practices, more mermaids might get dragged into Aquamermaid madness.
Despite my irritation with seeing posts about Aquamermaid, there will always be new mers in the community, and they do need to know about this. Fortunately there are other ways to learn the news, such as Mernetwork, other mermaid Facebook groups, including People who screw up in the mermaid industry, and Mermaid Youtuber’s such as Nerdmaid Faith and Courtney Mermaid. They’ve always been good about filling us in on the happenings in the mermaid community.
Conservatives mad about mermaids
This is a particularly bizarre story, if you ask me. Mermaids are beautiful, mythical creatures, but one conservative speaker rebuked the imagery of mermaids and "water people."
At a pro-Trump conference, conservative Amanda Grace said this:
“I have never seen more images of mermaids and water people in my life. That’s a division in the kingdom of darkness and they’re highly technologically advanced.
“And we have to understand what we’re dealing with. And we have to understand the rules of engagement in spiritual warfare. And we are meant for hand-to-hand combat.”
What in the world does she mean?!?! I don't think anyone knows, but many people online have been making jokes, such as a post saying "Hand to hand combat with mermaids was not on my 2023 bingo card."
Well those are all the news stories I have for now. Sign up for my newsletter to get alerts when I post new mermaid articles!
About the author
Shello! My name is Mermaid Liv, a professional mermaid and content creator. I share my love of mermaiding through this blog, along with my Youtube channel.
If you've never heard of it before, mermaiding is a hobby, profession, and sport that involves wearing mermaid tails made for swimming.
I began making tails in 2013 and have continued my mermaid journey, starting my Youtube channel, working at a mermaid festival, performing at gigs, and being featured in the Netflix Docu Series MerPeople.
Follow me on Instagram for mermaid photos and videos: @the_real_mermaid_liv and be *shore* to check out my Youtube channel.