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.