Melissa McCarthy is set to portray Ursula in Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, and now Lizzo has opened up about losing out on the role.
The “Rumors” singer and rapper went viral for her inspired Ursula costume back in 2018, and the attention made enough noise for Disney to pay attention. Speaking with Variety, Lizzo explained what happened when she bumped in to McCarthy after the audition process, and what she hoped to bring to the character if she landed the part.
“Everyone knows I auditioned for Ursula in The Little Mermaid, and I didn’t get it. But you know, I’m fine as hell,” Lizzo said. “That has nothing to do with Ursula, but I was down to make Ursula a THOT, shaking ass.”
Later down the line, she briefly met McCarthy at the taping of Adele’s One Night Only concert in Los Angeles. “She was like, ‘Hi I’m Melissa,’” said Lizzo, real name Melissa Viviane Jefferson. “And I was like, ‘Hi I’m Melissa. 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 doesn’t have any sour feelings on the situation, though. “I was like, ‘Girl, because my audition was terrible.’ And I say that as Tyler Perry walks by,” she continued. “And I was like—ruined my chances there. And then she goes, ‘This is my daughter Vivian.’ And I’m like, ‘Get out of here, because my name is Melissa Viviane.’ We were looking at each other like, ‘What the hell is going on?'”
She later clarified that her audition wasn’t “terrible,” and that she was joking about her performance. "My audition was good," she said. "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 won’t feature Lizzo, but it will star Halle Bailey as Ariel, joined by a supporting cast that also features Javier Bardem, Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, and Awkwafina.
