Melissa McCarthy Discusses Her Inner Drag Queen, Says She Influenced Her Portrayal of Ursula in 'Little Mermaid'

Melissa McCarthy pulled influence from drag culture while portraying Ursula in the upcoming live action retelling of The Little Mermaid.

The 52-year-old actress plays the wicked sea witch, who will face off against Halle Bailey‘s version of Ariel in the new movie.

Fans may not be aware, but Ursula was originally inspired by a drag queen named Divine. Melissa addressed drag culture in a recent interview while discussing how she got into character.

Read more about Melissa McCarthy’s prep to play Ursula…

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Melissa said that she “100 percent” pulled from drag culture for the role.

“There’s a drag queen that lives in me. I’m always right on the verge of going full-time with her,” she explained. Melissa has previously revealed that she performed in drag at the start of her career as a comedian.

“I really dressed to rival a drag queen, for sure. I had a gold lamé swing coat on, a huge wig, big eyelashes,” she said in a 2014 interview. “I talked about being incredibly wealthy and beautiful and living extravagantly.”

Her drag persona was named Miss Y!

Of course, Ursula isn’t exactly like the queen of her past: “She’s been put in this lair. It’s like she’s had too many martinis alone. Her friends are eels. That is a woman who has seen it, been in it, dug her way back out. All my references are terrible, but I kept thinking, ‘Many a Pall Mall has this woman had,” she said about the sea witch.

We’ve learned a lot about the movie in recent weeks. King Triton actor Javier Bardem reacted to the fact that the king would not be shirtless.

Halle addressed how her retelling of Ariel will be different than the original and opened up about racist trolls who were upset by her casting.

The film hits theaters on May 26, 2023. Watch the trailer below!