Lizzo gave some insight into her audition for Disney's live-action The Little Mermaid and what happened when she ran into Melissa McCarthy, who ultimately won the part of Ursula.
The singer-songwriter lobbied for the role on social media in 2018, posting a viral clip of herself expertly belting the lyrics to "Poor Unfortunate Souls." It's safe to say she understood the assignment — what with the purple body paint, larger-than-life white wig, and hairline-high eyebrows.
I’M URSULA. PERIOD. @Disney
She posted additional tweets about the iconic Disney villain, writing that it's her "dream" to play the character.
So when it was announced that Melissa won the part, some fans were divided, saying that while Melissa is fantastic, the role should have gone to a Black woman or drag queen, especially since Ursula was inspired by the late drag queen Divine.
Well, in a new cover story with Variety, Lizzo reflected on the situation. "Everyone knows I auditioned for Ursula in The Little Mermaid, and I didn’t get it. But you know, I’m fine as hell. That has nothing to do with Ursula, but I was down to make Ursula a THOT, shaking ass."
And actually, the 33-year-old ended up running into Melissa at Adele's CBS concert special. There weren't any hard feelings — just jokes and an unexpected bonding moment.
"She was like, 'Hi, I’m Melissa,'" Lizzo said. "And I was like, 'Hi, I’m Melissa [Lizzo's birth name]. And I also auditioned for Ursula.' And she was like, 'Well, why the hell did I get the part?' which is a classic Melissa McCarthy thing to say."
Lizzo and Melissa when they realized both of them have connections to the names "Melissa" and "Vivian," probably:
And, to clarify, her audition wasn't actually "terrible." Lizzo explained, "Sometimes I like to make jokes. My audition was good. You can ask Disney. I don’t want to talk too much about it. The singing was great. I’ll just say that."
Personally, I believe Disney can make it up to us by casting Lizzo as one of the Muses in a live-action Hercules!
