“Mean Girls ”Star Avantika Has Not Been Cast as Rapunzel in a Live-Action “Tangled” Despite Racist Backlash She's Receiving

Disney has not announced plans to make a live-action reimagining of the hit 2010 animated movie

Though Disney has never formally announced plans to make a live-action reimagining of Tangled, actress Avantika became the subject of racist messages on social media after unfounded rumors linked her to the role of Rapunzel.

Different fan accounts took to TikTok and X (formerly known as Twitter) to share ideas about who they would like to star in a live-action version of the 2010 animated film, which starred Mandy Moore.

One X user's now-deleted post caused a frenzy after the user claimed that "sources" said the actress, 19, and School Spirits actor Milo Manheim, 21, were cast as the film's lead couple, according to BuzzFeed News. The original X user then shared another post and wrote: “alright i deleted #that tweet i tweeted it for fun but people took it seriously and decided to be racist."

“Sources say Avantika and Milo Manheim have been screen testing as Rapunzel and Flynn Rider for the Tangled Live-Action,” read the original post, per BuzzFeed News. As a result, TikTok videos of who the audiences would “fan cast” began to circulate.

In a follow-up post, the user added, “Fyi never wanted avantika to be set up, i really liked the fan cast so i took the opportunity and mixed it with milo (since at that time i was still a stan).”

Related: Halle Bailey Ignored 'Little Mermaid' Naysayers: 'I Think About the People Who Lift Me Up' (Exclusive)

The Mean Girls actress, who is of South Asian descent, faced racist backlash on multiple social media platforms following the now-deleted post.

Several Instagram users have flooded Avantika's personal Instagram profile, writing, “you’re NOT rapunzel 😍.” Others wrote, “the last person to be rapunzel,” and “dont be rapunzel 😢 ur gonna ruin my childhood ok?”

However, Avantika's fans came to her defense in the comment section as well. “She is my rapunzel 😍❤️,” one user wrote in a comment on her Monday Instagram post. “How can u see avantika and not think Disney princess,” added an X user.

“#AVANTIKA as #RAPUNZEL her vibe is so rapunzel! 🪻🎨 ,” a TikTok user wrote in the video’s caption.

Never Have I Ever star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan also voiced support for Avantika on X. "and they finally woke up to realize it was all just rumours and the sources never existed. good job! and to the racists, y’all still need a hobby fr 🤡," Ramakrishnan wrote.

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Related: Amanda Seyfried Poses with Her Mean Girls Counterpart Avantika in Fun Photos: 'Karen Meet Karen'

A spokesperson for Disney did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for more information on Tuesday.

Avantika is, however, working on a fantasy princess project with Disney: In November 2022, Avantika celebrated being cast in a Disney+ adaptation of the book A Crown of Wishes, which she’ll also executive produce. At the time, she said the project was “going to launch a new era of princesses for disney.” “i can't wait to go on this journey with you all,” she added.

The treatment of Avantika's "fan cast" in the unannounced live-action film follows the similar racist backlash that Halle Bailey faced when she was cast as Ariel in The Little Mermaid.

Bailey then addressed the negativity, and told PEOPLE that she has learned to rise above the criticism. "I don't really think about the naysayers," said the 23-year-old actress.

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