Young Woman Rejects Tiana Role In Disney Princess-Themed Bridal Party Due To Her ‘Discomfort’ With Playing Black Characters

“She wants me as Tiana. The problem is, I’m white—the entire bridal party is white.”

Jesse

• Published in Interesting
• February 22, 2024

In the whimsical world of wedding planning, one bride's fairy tale dreams collided with a harsh reality check. It all started when our narrator’s friend Holly, the blushing bride-to-be, declared her wedding to be a princess-packed affair starring the adorable Disney princesses. 

Holly had always been a Disney super fan, so this didn’t come as a surprise to the bridal squad. Now, Holly, being the benevolent ruler of this fairytale fete, assigned each bridesmaid a regal role. 

She wanted each of them repping a different color, and the mantle of Tiana fell on OP, color code? Green. The problem was that OP was a white woman—as were the other bridesmaids.

Holly explained she chose OP as Tiana since she had the darkest hair. She also ‘strongly suggested’ that OP get a tan before the wedding. First things first, OP wasn’t comfortable cosplaying a black woman—and she didn’t want to.

OP, with all the diplomatic finesse of a seasoned negotiator, proposed alternative princesses that seemed like a better match. Sadly, her suggestions were met with the diplomatic equivalent of a dragon's roar.

In Holly's words, “no one would care.” Well, OP cared, and that was enough. OP threatened to step down if her pretty simple demands weren’t met, but this only earned her the “b***ch” title and numerous complaints from the family about being difficult.

Scroll down to find out the full details of the story.

The story in detail

OP’s friend, Holly, wants all her bridesmaids to dress as Disney princesses for her upcoming wedding

Holly won’t be left out. She also has plans to be kitted in a glittery, glammed up ballgown

Holly decided that OP would play Tiana. This made OP uncomfortable since she’s white

OP brought it up with Holly, but all her alternatives were turned down

OP decided to opt out of the bridal train, which got Holly very upset

OP has gotten several messages from Holly’s family and friends who are accusing her of being ‘difficult’

OP is standing her ground

We gathered some reactions from Netizens:

“I don’t think anyone would be offended if you were dressed as Tiana—or a modern take on Tiana.”

“Darken your skin? Get dreadlocks? Then yeah, YTA. Wear a tiana-inspired dress? Completely fine.”

“I'm saying this as a black woman.... You are overreacting.”

“Black girls can dress up as Elsa and white forks can dress to like Mulan or Tiana.”

“There’s nothing wrong with a Tiana-inspired dress on anyone, as long as there’s nothing weird going on with hair/makeup.”

“Honestly YTA if that’s the only reason. It’s a green dress, nobody cares.”

The majority of Redditors seemed to think OP was indeed the a**hole. A proud woman of color even affirmed OP was overreacting about the racial part. After all, our modern-day Ariel was played by a black woman with flowing locks; anyone can be anything. 

Many still hinted she might just be trying to avoid unnecessary drama, so who knows? That being said, the community agreed Holly was out of line for hitting OP with the ‘b’ word.

In the end, OP chose to gracefully exit the stage, not solely due to the discomfort of misrepresentation but also in response to the barrage of insults.

Jesse