Yahoo News Joy Behar jokes about new Little Mermaid consent lyrics: 'He could go to second base, that's it'
The ladies of The View are diving into controversial waters as they debate over Disney's new live-action Little Mermaid remake and songwriter Alan Menken's decision to update key lyrics from the original 1989 film to emphasize the importance of consent.
Goldberg introduced the show's "Hot Topics" segment by praising Menken's choice to adapt his material for a new audience.
"You're a songwriter who says these are not feeling like the songs I want kids singing now — I want to make some adjustments. I'm glad he did it. I wouldn't want some new person coming in and going, 'I'm going to fix this.' He knows what he's doing. Eight Academy Awards. He's got eight of 'em ," the 67-year-old said before Sunny Hostin recapped the scene featuring "Kiss the Girl," one of the tracks Menken reworked for the upcoming Halle Bailey–starring production.
ABC (2); Disney Joy Behar, 'The Little Mermaid' star Halle Bailey, and Sara Haines
"With 'Kiss the Girl,' she gave her voice away so she could have legs, so I don't know how she could talk," Hostin said, referencing the ability of Ariel — who is 16 years old in the story — to consent to a kiss from her love interest, Prince Eric.
"Wait a minute, when this consent thing happened, she had legs? Because I was thinking, as a mermaid, how far could he go? He could go to second base, that's it," Joy Behar quipped as the audience laughed. She added, "She has legs — now we're talking!"
Goldberg watched her fellow panelists talk through the issue with a confused look on her face.
"The truth of the matter is — and I don't want to say this out loud, too loudly — but, you know, it's animation?" she said. "What they're shooting now is — they call it live-action, yes — but the story is still, you know, there are mermaids not making an appearance in this."
Menken confirmed alterations to "Kiss the Girl" for Bailey's debut as Ariel.
"There are some lyric changes in 'Kiss the Girl' because people have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel]," he said. "We have some revisions in ''Poor Unfortunate Souls' regarding lines that might make young girls somehow feel that they shouldn't speak out of turn, even though Ursula is clearly manipulating Ariel to give up her voice."
Disney Halle Bailey in 'The Little Mermaid'
Behar closed Tuesday's "Hot Topics" by airing a hilarious grievance over an unrelated Disney movie: 1942's deer epic Bambi.
"I have a gripe against Disney. I'll probably get fired for this," she said, referencing The View's parent network, ABC. "I just want to say, the worst of all of the cartoons was Bambi. When that mother was killed, I had an asthma attack, and I don't have asthma. That was too violent. [I was] very upset, and I object!"
The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC, while director Rob Marshall's The Little Mermaid — also starring Melissa McCarthy as Ursula — hits theaters May 26.
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