Disney accidentally cast an adult film star in the live-action version of The Little Mermaid, and now they’re declining to comment on the situation.

24-year-old Stefano Tomadini, who makes adult movies under the alias Dante Ferrari, was cast as a mermaid in the film.

And yes, a quick search for the name on Google yields some NSFW results. Oof!

Apparently, the adult film actor was cast as one of several male models for the film, and Disney was unaware of his previous escapades beforehand.

His explicit films, for which he was paid up to £1,000 a time, are still available to watch online, though viewers have to pay.

A source told The Sun newspaper: “Casting bosses decided to hire a number of really sexy male models to play mermen in the movie.

“They had no idea about Stefano’s racy videos and, given ‘The Little Mermaid’ is the big summer blockbuster for kids, it’s a bit embarrassing for Disney.”

While filming the movie in Sardinia, Stefano shared a number of behind-the-scenes photos on Instagram.

Tagging Disney in the post, he wrote in the caption: “Lifetime memories with lifetime friends.(sic)”

Throw another controversy onto the fire. The Little Mermaid has had its fair share of online drama, first with the choice to race-swap Ariel with actress Halle Bailey, and then with the awful CGI for beloved characters like Flounder and Sebastian. Oh, and the new music too.

Currently, the movie is massively underperforming at the overseas box office, despite decent critical reviews here in the States. It’s unlikely that Disney will recoup its investment in this one.

So what’s another bit of bad press?

But hey, at least they didn’t put male genitalia on the movie poster this time around.

[Source: National Post]