Disney Receives Backlash Over Black Tinker Bell In 'Peter Pan & Wendy'

As we know, Tinkerbell is Peter Pan's loyal sidekick and a major character in the story. The spunky, often sassy fairy has been depicted as white in all of Disney's animated films, shows, and comics.

Over the years, many fans have grown to associate the character with being a blonde-haired, fair-skinned white woman -- something that Shahidi, despite being a gorgeous, talented actress, is not.

The 23-year-old will be starring alongside Alexander Molony, who plays the titular Peter, Ever Gabo Anderson as Wendy, and Jude Law as Captain Hook.

Other cast members include Alyssa Wapanatâhk as Tiger Lily, Jim Gaffigan as Mr. Smee, Alan Tudyk as Mr. Darling, and Molly Parker as Mrs. Darling.

However, the casting of Shahidi has caused some controversy, with many fans torn over the decision to cast a black actress for the traditionally white role.

On one side of the fence, there are those who are excited about the change

One tweet says, "She's perfect."

Another compares Shahidi to a beautiful drawing of a fairy they made in the past.

Some are also praising Disney's decision to have more representation and diversity in media.

"all my favorite disney cartoon girlies are now black women we used to pray for days like this !!!" one tweet says.

Another one says, "I honestly don't see any problems with this, it's really nice that my kid will watch these classics and they will have poc in them and won't be so predominantly white."

Some of the comments point to the backlash that Disney is receiving, saying that it's racist to not like the casting, particularly because "it's a made up fairy omgg."

"I love her and living for these pics. But people especially the racists will have something to say," one fan replies to the tweet.

Another tweet says that the reason why characters were white back then was because "that's all that was allowed," and it's good that "Disney is beginning to acknowledge that characters don't have to be white all the time."

However, it seems like a large part of the fanbase, as well as the majority of the Twitter replies under the tweet, aren't pleased with the decision.

Many are pointing out Tinkerbell's iconic look, which isn't a surprise, considering the animated film came out in 1953.

"but tinker bells iconic look is literally the blonde hair n blue eyes. nothing wrong with the loose representation but why keep changing shit that already has a staple look," says one tweet.

Tinkerbell's blonde bun seems to be what fans are missing the most.

"No hate to yara she a great actress but this is not just it. And where is Tinks blonde hair?" a commenter asks.

One fan asks, "Isn't tinkerbell blonde and white?"

Another reply further shortens it to: "isn't TINKERBELL BLONDE"

One tweet even suggested an alternative actress for the role, one that matches the original animated Tinkerbell's aesthetic.

Still, not everyone thinks that this is actually a win for diversity. Many fans feel that the company is more concerned with maintaining an image than being truly inclusive.

One commenter theorizes, "The reason studios make beloved characters black in the live action adaptations is so they don't have to go to the trouble of actually giving special, brand new unique characters made from scratch to black people."

Some comments suggest that Disney is catering only to black people and not any other race.

"They making everybody blck now ?" one commenter replies.

Fans also mentioned the fact that Tinkerbell already has a black fairy friend named Iridessa, who can be seen in the Disney Fairies franchise.

"Why? Iridessa was right there!" a fan comments under the tweet.

"Give her a yellow dress and she's Iridessa. Even has the same smile," says another reply, which garnered over 8,000 likes.

Many believe that if Disney truly wanted to make a black character shine on the big screen, they should've featured Iridessa instead of changing Tinkerbell's decades-old iconic look.

Some fans are also saying that just because they didn't agree with the casting decision doesn't mean they're racist. They're simply against changing an iconic character, which is a completely understandable perspective.

In fact, fans are speculating that Disney knows what it's doing and that it's serving fans a political statement.

Others are simply tired of live-action remakes and want nothing to do with them.

This isn't the first time that Disney race swapped a character and received backlash for it. This past year, the company received heaps of criticism for casting black actress Halle Bailey, as Ariel in the upcoming The Little Mermaid live-action remake.

At this point, it's unclear if Disney will respond to the backlash. Obviously, it looks like there are a lot of people on both sides of the Tinker Bell debate, and only time will tell if the studio stands by its decision.

No matter what our stand is on the issue, though, we're sure that both Yara and Halle are going to do great in their respective roles. Peter Pan & Wendy will come to theaters on April 28, 2023.