Graffiti saying “Racist Fish” is seen on a statue of “The Little Mermaid” in Copenhagen, Denmark, on July 3, 2020. Ritzau Scanpix / Niels Christian Vilmann via REUTERS
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Denmark woke up on Friday with the words “racist fish” scrawled on the base of the “Little Mermaid,” the bronze statue honoring Hans Christian Andersen’s famous fairy tale that perches on a rock in the sea in front of a pier in Copenhagen.
Police said they had not yet identified the perpetrators. The 107-year-old sculpture, which is visited by a million tourists each year, has been smashed before, including by anti-whaling activists and pro-democracy activists, twice suffering beheading.
“We consider it vandalism and have started an investigation,” said a Copenhagen police spokesman.
Protesters from the Black Lives Matter movement around the world have rallied in recent months against statues of historical figures who played a role in racist oppression, such as slave traders and colonialists.
The Little Mermaid has not been a part of this debate, but last year a new Disney version of the 1989 animated film of the same name was the subject of controversy after African-American actress Halle Bailey was cast for the central role.
“I am having a hard time seeing what is particularly racist in the fairy tale” The Little Mermaid, “Ane Grum-Schwensen, a researcher at the HC Andersen Center at the University of Southern Denmark, told local media outlet Ritzau.
Reports from Nikolaj Skydsgaard; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky
.
