Melissa McCarthy’s makeup artist on The Little Mermaid slams ‘ridiculous’ backlash against his work

The makeup artist who transformed Melissa McCarthy into Ursula for The Little Mermaid is hitting back at the fallout surrounding his work and employment on the blockbuster live-action remake.

Many drag queens have criticized Disney for not hiring a queer makeup artist to bring Ursula’s iconic look to life, as her original aesthetic in the 1989 animated classic was based on legendary drag queen Divine. 

Speaking to Insider, Peter King slammed the criticism as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘very offensive,’ asking the pointed question: ‘Why can’t I do as good a job as a queer makeup artist?’

The Oscar-winning King seemed to be taking a swipe at the drag queen community claiming Ursula’s look as their own, saying: ‘That’s trying to claim it and that’s fine, if that’s what they wanna do, but don’t put people down because they’re not what they want it to be.’

Ursula’s connection to the drag community caused many queens to comment on McCarthy’s makeup, which they deemed as amateurish. 

Hitting back: Speaking to Insider, Peter King slammed the criticism as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘very offensive,’ asking the pointed question: ‘Why can’t I do as good a job as a queer makeup artist?’

Calling out McCarthy’s look on Twitter, drag queen Sierra La Puerta wrote: ‘We said Ursula was inspired by a drag queen we didn’t mean one who had only been doing it for 3 months bc-‘

The criticism didn’t sit well with King, who said that he ‘personally [doesn’t] get’ it and hit back at the notion that an artist needs to have an ‘attachment’ to their work.

‘Yes, I’m very old now, so that’s fine,’ he said, seemingly referring to critics who said that Disney should have championed up-and-coming LGBTQ+ makeup artists. 

King added: ‘I get that too, but you know, a makeup artist or makeup designer could design makeup. They don’t have to have an attachment to the nature of what they’re doing.’

The veteran makeup artist even went so far as to declare that he did not use Divine as an inspiration for McCarthy’s version of Ursula. 

‘No, no. It was me,’ he said. ‘I didn’t really draw on anything. I played around quite a lot with different colors, different shapes, and stuff. It just was sort of Melissa and I talking and creating. So I didn’t really draw on anything at all.’

Meanwhile, McCarthy praised drag queens as a major source of inspiration for her performance, saying that she ‘100 percent’ mined the community and the art form for research.

Gushing about her drag queen fandom last month, the beloved actress proclaimed: ‘I’m a huge, huge fan of drag shows and the whole art of it and the entertainment of it. I’ve been going to shows since I was not supposed to be going to shows.’

Not backing down: The Oscar-winning King seemed to be taking a swipe at the drag queen community claiming Ursula’s look as their own, saying: ‘That’s trying to claim it and that’s fine, if that’s what they wanna do, but don’t put people down because they’re not what they want it to be’

The inspiration: Many drag queens have criticized Disney for not hiring a queer makeup artist to bring Ursula’s iconic look to life, as her original aesthetic in the 1989 animated classic was based on legendary drag queen Divine (pictured on the right in 1975)

Staunch supporter: McCarthy has praised drag queens as a major source of inspiration for her performance, saying that she ‘100 percent’ mined the community and the art form for research 

McCarthy even joked that she might do drag full-time one day: ‘There’s a drag queen that lives in me. I’m always right on the verge of going full-time with her.’

The Bridesmaids star has been a passionate defender of Drag Queens these past few months as anti-drag legislation has been sweeping the country. 

In March, Melissa posted a collage on Instagram that showed iconic drag characters surrounding a central statement. 

‘You’ve been entertained by drag queens your whole life,’ read McCarthy’s message. ‘Don’t pretend it’s a problem now.’