Disney Won’t Allow Gay People Kissing In Movies, Pixar Animators Say
Well, this isn’t great. Earlier this week, in response to Florida passing the odious, so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill (which bans discussions of sexual orientation or gender identity in schools for kindgarten through to grade three) Bob Chapek, the CEO of The Walt Disney Company – which obviously has deep roots in the state of Florida – sent employees an internal memo, defending the company’s decision to withhold condemnation for the bill.
According to Chapek, calling out Florida’s legislative bigotry would only impede the company’s “ability to tell…stories” and the best way to achieve change is to create “inspiring content.” Chapek’s sentiment was naturally cheered on by every LGBTQIA+ moviegoer who felt so represented by the villain’s comedic henchman in Beauty and the Beast, or the women who kissed for 0.5 seconds at the end of The Rise of Skywalker, or that iconic Avengers: Endgame hero: Grieving Man #3.
Following the publication of this memo, Chapek backtracked, stating that he personally called Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to express his “disappointment” over the bill. Which seems especially insincere considering that his company contributed “just under $200,000 to the Florida Republicans behind HB 1557.” And in terms of Disney’s “inspiring content” that narrative was quickly shut down by the good folks at Pixar. Yup, the same people who made you collectively cry more than all the family weddings and funerals combined are now standing up for what’s right and calling out the Mouse House.
As reported by Variety, a statement from “the LGBTQIA+ employees of Pixar, and their allies” Disney executives have repeatedly cut “nearly every moment of overtly gay affection… regardless of when there is protest from both the creative teams and executive leadership at Pixar.” The letter goes on to say that Pixar staff “have personally witnessed beautiful stories, full of diverse characters, come back from Disney corporate reviews shaved down to crumbs of what they once were,” adding that : “Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it.”
Which seems … incredibly damning. And it will likely only further calls to boycott Disney over their inaction, and implicit support, of this bill. And no amount of “exclusively gay moments” will help.
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Top Image: Pixar
