Indian-American actress Avantika Vandanapu has been subjected to racist backlash after it was rumoured that she would star as Rapunzel in an alleged live-action adaptation of the Disney animated film 'Tangled'. Avantika has starred in the 2024 film Mean Girls, and was recently seen in the Amazon Prime Video series Big Girls Don't Cry.

Disney is yet to confirm a live-action Rapunzel movie, but fan accounts on social media have claimed that the Indian-American actress is being considered for the role. A now-deleted social media post claimed the actress was "screen testing" with Milo Manheim, according to an image of the post shared by BuzzFeed News.