Disney has yet another controversy on their hands with a live-action reimagining. Many have weighed in on the debate about Ariel and Tinkerbell being race swapped. Now the internet is mad that Disney cast actress Sydney Agudong to play Nani in the live-action ‘Lilo and Stitch’ film because she’s too light-skinned and doesn’t look like the character.

Meanwhile, the same people cheered when Auli’l Cravalho was announced to be playing the live-action Moana, for whom she voiced the character. Cravalho is also much lighter than her character of Moana. But that choice is somehow okay with their argument being that Cravalho is Hawaiian, while Sydney was only born and raised in Kauai, Hawaii, and her mother was from Hawaii. Still, she’s not Hawaiian enough because she’s “British-Irish with Hawaiian and Filipino ancestry.”

This is her as a child. If they said she was playing Lilo then people would have been fine with it.

People are upset that the actress doesn’t look like the animated Nani. Ariel isn’t going to look like the animated Ariel, and Tinkerbell isn’t going to look like her animated version either. People who didn’t like the changes were accused of being “racist.” Realistically Auli’l isn’t going to look like Moana either, but it’s okay because she was her voice. It all seems very selective.

Within an ethnic group, people can be shades ranging from lighter to darker skin tones. Both actresses could technically portray the characters. Disney already established with Ariel and Tinkerbell that the live-action versions of characters do not have to resemble the animated ones.

The same people yelling that it’s okay that the live-action Ariel doesn’t look like the animated version are now upset over Nani being “too light.” They keep saying because of Nani’s culture; she has to be much darker. But some Hawaiian people are lighter in skin tone, as evidenced by Auli’l Cravalho.

Personally, I think they did such a great job casting Lilo with Maia Kealoha, I am surprised they didn’t hire someone who looked more like Nani. Still, we know that Disney isn’t casting based on the animated version’s appearance anymore.

Disney will cast who they want no matter what any of us think. It’s hypocritical to say that it’s okay to change one character but not another, especially when Moana is going to be much lighter than her animated version, and people are fine with that.