Rumors of Avantika playing a live-action Rapunzel spark racist backlash online

 The “Mean Girls” star has been the target of racist comments since rumors started that she was cast in a live adaptation of “Tangled.”

ASIAN AMERICA

Rumors of Avantika playing a live-action Rapunzel spark racist backlash online

The “Mean Girls” star has been the target of racist comments since rumors started that she was cast in a live adaptation of “Tangled.”

Avantika Vandanapu at the "Mean Girls" New York premiere

Avantika Vandanapu at the "Mean Girls" New York premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on Jan. 8.John Lamparski / WireImage via Getty Images file

April 9, 2024, 7:34 PM WAT

By Sakshi Venkatraman

“Mean Girls” star Avantika Vandanapu has been the subject of racist backlash following rumors that she’s set to play Rapunzel in a live-action version of the Disney animated film “Tangled.” 

No live-action Rapunzel movie has been confirmed by Disney, but fan accounts on social media have claimed without basis that the Indian American actress is screen-testing for the role. Many “Tangled” lovers took those posts literally, and some supported the idea of casting her. 

Others responded with racist comments on TikTok and Instagram, saying an Indian woman with long black hair isn’t fit to play the role. 

“rapunzel should be played by a blonde white girl,” one TikToker wrote in a post.

“Rapunzel is a GERMAN folk story. Indians are not and never will be German,” another said.

Vandanapu’s Instagram was also flooded with hate comments, with some people calling her “disgusting” and saying, “don’t ruin tangled.” 

“You’re going to be the worst rapunzel in history,” one comment said.

Some suggested that casting an Indian woman as Rapunzel would be like casting white women in the roles of non-white Disney princesses like “Mulan” and Tiana from “Princess and the Frog.”