‘The Kardashians’ preview rolling before ‘The Little Mermaid’ awakens an entirely new path of controversy

It’s certainly no major secret that Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid has awakened sleeping trolls and racists from their dreary caves. Although, it’s still a wonder as to how any one person could have an issue with Halle Bailey’s groundbreaking performance. But as much as character changes and narrative choices stirred up plenty of controversy in the aftermath of worldwide screenings, perhaps no other controversy is ringing as loudly as the one pointed directly at Hulu and the infamous Kardashian clan.

Earlier today, IndieWire reported that an official preview for Hulu’s reality series The Kardashians apparently rolled ahead of a Little Mermaid screening in New Jersey. And while the otherwise harmless ad was immediately followed by children giggling and parents unsurprisingly groaning, the fact of the matter is that the decision to air a relatively non-PG commercial before a family-friendly flick has attracted some contention. 

And while a common belief is that the ad was run because of Disney’s connection to Hulu, the truth behind the decision relates to airing the commercial solely for the parents in the room. As the statistics go — or at least in NCM’s case — airing an ad that might not be “intended” for children is still possible, even if the specific commercial isn’t exactly deemed “appropriate” for them to watch. Make that make sense.

And so, a commercial featuring the fast-talking members of the Kardashian clan and their highly dysfunctional family moments were shown in front of an audience chock-full of children. Of course, that’s not to say that all theaters aired the commercial — in fact, this could have likely been one of the only ones. Still, this sure makes the criticism against Flounder seem pretty meaningless, doesn’t it?