Did Sussex cheerleader’s pal plant Kate ‘Disney jibe’?

I DO hope that Disney’s decision to feature a scene that appears to mock the Princess of Wales in its new version of The Little Mermaid was not encouraged by an old mucker of Omid Scobie, the cheerleader for Prince Harry and Meghan who is always quick to criticise Prince William and Catherine.

Scobie’s pal Zach Johnson is a senior figure at the Walt Disney Company. He used to work with Scobie at American gossip magazine Us Weekly. Articles which appeared under their joint bylines included one with the headline, ‘Kate Middleton Topless Photos Published in French Magazine’.

Just like Scobie, Johnson enjoys taking pot shots at the Royal Family. ‘High time to dismantle The Firm,’ he squeaked after Meghan had made ‘racism’ claims to chat-show host Oprah Winfrey. ‘I don’t want to ever hear a single person criticise Meghan and Harry for leaving this toxic family ever again.’

Disney’s remake of The Little Mermaid, released in cinemas next week, stars Halle Bailey, who is black, as the mermaid, Ariel, who falls for a white prince, Eric, and gives up her voice in order to be with him.

In the first meeting between Ariel and Prince Eric, he tries to guess her name. His first guess is ‘Diana’. His second is ‘ Catherine’, the Princess of Wales’s first name.

At the mention of the latter, Ariel screws up her face. ‘OK, definitely not Catherine,’ Eric says.

The film already has a royal connection: the Duchess of Sussex drew parallels between herself and Ariel in her explosive 2021 interview with Winfrey.