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Harry Styles Dressed As Ariel The Mermaid Prompts A Wave Of Mixed Reaction Online

Harry Styles as Ariel the mermaid is the internet's latest obsession. Where did these photos come from?

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Tanvi Akhauri
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The internet has found its latest obsession in some resurfaced photos of Harry Styles as Ariel, the mermaid princess from Disney's line of animated films. Donning a fire-red wig, stock mermaid costume and champagne in hand, the Watermelon Sugar singer has become the talk of e-town. And expectedly, the unexpectedly emerged visuals have drawn rather polar reactions.

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The current wave strongly resembles the response Styles' elicited last year November with a Vogue cover, where he featured in gender-fluid clothing. More on that here.

Photos of Styles as a mermaid were taken during a shoot for his SNL appearance in 2019.

There was some speculation then that Styles would be part of the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid in the role of Prince Eric. He, however, turned down the role citing his focus on music as the reason.

"I want to put music out and focus on that for a while... But everyone involved in it was amazing. So I think it’s going to be great," he told Face magazine.

Harry Styles As Ariel: Hacking Away At Toxic Masculinity? Internet Debates

As photos of Harry Styles as Ariel flood social media timelines, there is a running line of discussion and debate surrounding whether or not this - like the Vogue cover - has potential enough to challenge the norms of masculinity and bring down the toxicity of it.

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As one side of the internet reacts with memes and light humour that is largely adoring of the Grammy-award artist, another half is raising doubts on whether sexual ambiguity by pop personalities is taking the cause of queer pride forward at all. Read an opinion on it here. 

See more reactions below: 


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