'13 Reasons Why' Star Christian Navarro Blasts Disney for Casting White Actor as Prince Eric in 'The Little Mermaid' Remake

13 Reasons Why star Christian Navarro is speaking out after Disney announced the casting of Jonah [...]

By Allison Schonter

13 Reasons Why star Christian Navarro is speaking out after Disney announced the casting of Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric in the upcoming The Little Mermaid live-action remake. The actor, who in September had revealed he had auditioned for the role, took to social media following the casting news earlier this week to blast the company for choosing a "white guy" over a person of color.

"Just came back to say; after months of seeing every person of color they could think of for the role of Prince Eric, [Walt Disney Studio] somehow still cast a white guy," Navarro wrote in a since-deleted tweet, according to Deep Find.

"I guess diversity is just a word. And THATS Hollywood. One brown person is enough, two brown leads is unthinkable," he added.

The actor, who portrays Tony Padilla on the Netflix original series, also reacted to the news on his Instagram Story.

"Literally [Disney] saw a who's who list of actors of color and STILL went with the white guy," he wrote, according to screencaps captured by fans. "So much for diversity. I guess two brown leads would have tanked the movie right? Boring."

Disney had received widespread praise, and some criticism, after it was announced in July that Chloe x Halle member Halle Bailey would be taking on the role of Ariel. Said to have been a frontrunner for some time, fans applauded the casting for bringing diversity to film, which largely only featured white characters in its animated form.

After Bailey's casting, many had been hoping that Disney would also cast a person of color in the role of Prince Eric, with Navarro at the time even suggesting that he was hoping to make "history" following his audition.

"They wanted to see what I could do," he tweeted. "Tapes sent. Fingers crossed. Let's make some history."

Despite the hope, fans have still overwhelmingly had positive reactions to Hauer-King's casting. The actor is known for his roles in Little Women, A Dog's Way Home, and Postcards From London, as well as the BBC World War II miniseries, World on Fire.

Along with Bailey and Hauer-King, the cast also includes Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Awkwafina as Scuttle, and Jacob Tremblay as Flounder.

The Little Mermaid is to be directed by Rob Marshall, with Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda set to co-write new songs with composer Alan Menken, who wrote the 1989 animated film's songs with the late lyricist Howard Ashman. Miranda is also co-producing alongside Marshall, Marc Platt and John DeLuca. Jessica Virtue and Allison Erlikham will oversee the production for Disney.

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