Lizzo Reveals She Auditioned To Play Ursula In Disney's Live Action 'The Little Mermaid'

Although Melissa McCarthy has been cast as Ursula in Disney’s upcoming live action The Little Mermaid remake, in a recent interview with Variety, the singer Lizzo revealed that she was also in contention for the role.

Most might remember the Grammy Award-winner’s viral video where she dressed as the iconic Disney villain and sang “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” but it turns out she actually had her heart set on being the character.

In her interview, she says “Everyone knows I auditioned…I didn’t get it. But you know, I’m fine as hell.” She adds that had she gotten the role, she was prepared to “make Ursula a THOT, shaking ass.”

The singer also shared a story about how she ran into McCarthy recently, during Adele’s “One Night Only” concert special. After revealing that she had also audtioned for the role to McCarthy, the actress quipped “Well, why the hell did I get the part?”

Despite not getting the role, Lizzo maintains that there were other reasons she didn’t get the role and that her audition “wasn’t terrible.”

“My audition was good,” she tells Variety. “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 wrapped filming over the Summer and is still in the extensive post-production process. Disney has the film on schedule to hit theaters on May 26, 2023. We should expect some first look images and possibly a teaser during Disney’s D23 Expo, which is set for September 9-11, 2022.

Directed by Rob Marshall (Into The Woods), The Little Mermaid will feature the original music by Alan Menken (Tangled and 1989’s The Little Mermaid) in addition to four brand new songs co-written by Lin-Manuel Miranda (Encanto). The cast also includes Jonah Hauer-King (A Dog’s Way Home) as Prince Eric, Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids) as Ursula, Awkwafina (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) as Scuttle, and Daveed Diggs (Snowpiercer) as Sebastian. Also set to star is Emily Coates, Jude Akuwudike, Noma Dumezweni, Russell Balogh, and Adrian Christopher.

SOURCE: Variety