*The racist backlash against “The Little Mermaid” is impacting the film’s reviews on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb).
According to People, Disney’s live-action re-imagining of the beloved 1989 animated classic is getting a lot of “unusual activity” on IMDB, specifically when it comes to ratings for the movie.
The film opened Friday to $117 million at the domestic box office over Memorial Day Weekend. According to The Washington Post, “The Little Mermaid” received 41,000 user ratings on IMDB but more than 39 percent of the ratings are 1 star, Variety reports. IMDb revised its rating system as a result of the negative reviews.
“Our rating mechanism has detected unusual voting activity on this title,” a statement on the page reads, People reports. “To preserve the reliability of our rating system, an alternate weighting calculation has been applied.”
Just Announced: Halle Bailey has been cast in the upcoming live-action reimagining of The Little Mermaid. pic.twitter.com/GAUydbkfMV
— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) July 3, 2019
On its FAQ page, the IMDB states, “Although we accept and consider all votes received by users, not all votes have the same impact (or ‘weight’) on the final rating. When unusual voting activity is detected, an alternate weighting calculation may be applied in order to preserve the reliability of our system.”
According to The Post, fans attribute the negative review bombing to Halle Bailey’s casting at the first Black “Little Mermaid.”
Out of the sea… ????
Disney’s #TheLittleMermaid is now playing in theaters!
????: @eddieholly pic.twitter.com/6pA9eNtFLE
— The Little Mermaid (@LittleMermaid) May 30, 2023
Earlier this year, Bailey reacted to the racism backlash.
“As a Black person, you just expect it and it’s not really a shock anymore,” Bailey told The Face. ”When [Chlöe and I] first signed to Parkwood, [Beyoncé] was always like: ’I never read my comments. Don’t ever read the comments.’ Honestly, when the teaser came out, I was at the D23 Expo and I was so happy. I didn’t see any of the negativity.”
“I know people are like: ’It’s not about race.’ But now that I’m her…People don’t understand that when you’re Black there’s this whole other community,” she added. “It’s so important for us to see ourselves.”
READ MORE: ‘The Little Mermaid’ Tanks at Box Office in ‘Racist’ China
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