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Lizzo Talks Not Getting the Role of 'Ursula'

Lizzo Talks Not Getting the Role of 'Ursula'

Lizzo recently sat down with Variety, opening up about her social media audition for the role of Ursula in The Little Mermaid. Though her post impressed many, the role ultimately went to Melissa McCarthy.


When it was announced that McCarthy would play the role, many fans were disappointed, pointing out that the character should be played by a Black woman or a drag queen, as Ursula was inspired by late drag queen Divine.

Lizzo said opened up about her audition, saying,

"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."

The 'Good as Hell' singer actually ran into McCarthy at Adele's CBS concert special, and shared that there were no hard feelings.

"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?'' And then I was like, ‘Girl, because my audition was terrible.’ And I say that as Tyler Perry walks by. And I was like — ruined my chances there."

Lizzo was, of course, joking, as she completely nailed the audition. She said,

"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."

The Little Mermaid is set to be released May 26, 2023, starring Halle Bailey, Awkwafina, Jonah Hauer-King, and Daveed Diggs.

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Cameron Williams