A ‘The Little Mermaid’ makeup artist has called a “very offensive” reaction “ridiculous” his work on Melissa McCarthy’s Ursula character 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 was allegedly inspired in the 1989 animated film by the iconic drag queen Divine, a frequent star in John Waters films.
“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 by makeup artist McCarthy, a clip that drag queen Sierra La Puerta quizzed 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 BC-,” LaPuerta wrote:.
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ star Kerri Colby in response to drag queen Denali’s comment on the clipand “RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under” star Art Simone also weighed in on King’s work.
King, who claimed his design of the look wasn’t “based on Divine,” told Insider 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 played drag queen Miss Y in New York, Deadline earlier this month that she had been a huge drag fan since her teenage years and frequently watched Disney’s animated version of “The Little Mermaid.”
“I was a nanny and we used to watch it every night. And I was always like, I know for a fact – but I couldn’t prove it – 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.