Disney to host gay rights summ Orlando

Contents:

• DISNEY EXECUTIVE PRODUCER ADMS TO ‘GAY AGENDA,’ ‘ADDG QUEERNS’ WHEREVER SHE COULD
• DISNEY WORLD DEFI RON DESANTIS BY HOSTG GAY RIGHTS SUMM FLORIDA
• DISNEY EMPLOYE STAGE WALKOUT TO MAND ACTN AGAST 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL
• DISNEY TO HOST GAY RIGHTS SUMM ORLANDO

DISNEY EXECUTIVE PRODUCER ADMS TO ‘GAY AGENDA,’ ‘ADDG QUEERNS’ WHEREVER SHE COULD

Disney’s ntroversial rponse to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill unrsr the pany’s plited history wh the LGBTQ+ muny — a plex relatnship which Disney has played both champn and punchg bag. Earlier this month, Disney CEO Bob Chapek spoke out about — but did not nmn — Florida’s ntroversial Parental Rights Edutn bill, which crics dubbed “Don’t Say Gay. Griff, who is also a profsor of film and media arts at Southern Methodist Universy, add that Disney has recently received a lot of publicy about var Disney films wh openly gay characters.

Even though Disney’s re product of fay-iendly entertament hasn’t been blatant s reprentatn of gay characters, ABC — which is owned by Disney — has done so wh TV shows like “Morn Fay” and “Ellen. ” In fact, “Ellen” had the first gay lead character on TV 1997. Disney has historilly had many gay employe, too.

DISNEY WORLD DEFI RON DESANTIS BY HOSTG GAY RIGHTS SUMM FLORIDA

”The Walt Disney Company, one of the world’s biggt media and entertament empir, pris self on a lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer (LGBTQ) iendly culture. But today s reputatn for clivy and tolerance is unr scty – as are s ep ti to the polil tablishment and the lack of LGBTQ reprentatn s ’s workers have been stagg walkouts prott at chief executive Bob Chapek’s lackltre rponse to Florida legislatn dubbed “don’t say gay”. But their prejudic were laid bare by a tweet om Christa Phaw, prs secretary for Florida’s ernor, Ron DeSantis, that said: “The bill that liberals accurately ll ‘don’t say gay’ would be more accurately scribed as an anti-groomg bill.

DISNEY EMPLOYE STAGE WALKOUT TO MAND ACTN AGAST 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL

It has been nmned as “hateful” by Joe Bin and other Democrats who argue that monis LGBTQ, prs secretary of the LGBTQ rights anisatn Equaly Florida and a survivor of the Pulse nightclub shootg 2016, says: “The ‘don’t say gay bill’ was dubbed that by the muny bee is a bigoted, very specifilly anti-LGBTQ piece of legislatn signed to censor classroom speech about our muny. Photograph: Chris Pizzello/Invisn/APYet the “don’t say gay” bill wrong-footed Chapek, who succeed Bob Iger as chief executive Febary 2020. They give to a lot of Democrats, bee they want those Democrats to be on their si too, but they have given a disproportnate amount to Republin legislators, many of whom supported and voted for the ‘don’t say gay’ bill.

The Human Rights Campaign has said will stop acceptg money om Disney “until we see them build on their public mment and work wh LGBTQ+ advot to ensure that dangero proposals, like Florida’s ‘don’t say gay or trans’ bill, don’t bee dangero laws” Whehall and Ey Blunt Jungle Cise. Eric Marc, creator and host of the Makg Gay History podst, says: “Disney has cultivated an LGBTQ-iendly image, both through their cln of LGBTQ characters recent years and wh their employe, so ’s shockg but not shockg that the CEO would have been so flat-footed.

Photograph: APFor s the stud’s output was steadfastly heterosexual even though s creative talents clud gay people such as Howard Ashman, an Osr wner who wrote the lyrics for The Ltle Mermaid and Bety and the Beast before his ath om Aids has been some progrs sce then wh a growg LGBTQ portrayals films and TV shows and the sellg of LGBTQ pri-themed merchandise at Disney stor. Last year’s film Jungle Cise featured a proment gay character: McGregor Houghton, played by Jack Whehall.

DISNEY TO HOST GAY RIGHTS SUMM ORLANDO

“Nearly every moment of overtly gay affectn is cut at Disney’s beht, regardls of when there is prott om both the creative teams and executive learship at Pixar.

Disney employe staged a walkout Tuday prott of the pany’s rponse to Florida’s ntroversial Parental Rights Edutn law, which crics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

DeSantis’s move was explicly retaliatn to Disney’s opposn to HB 1557, better known as the “Don’t say gay” law. In terms of the LGBTQ+ muny, though, Disney’s relatnship go far eper, and has veloped ways the pany self n never have Disney was never a rd-rryg homophobe but he was a steadfast nservative, and long after his ath 1966, Disney’s output ntued to promote “tradnal” and “fay” valu.

That didn’t disunt “dg” Disney characters (ually villas) as queer, that they exhibed stereotypilly gay attribut such as effemate behavur or distert the oppose sex: Jafar Aladd, for example, or Sr The Ln Kg, or even Shere Khan the tiger The Jungle Book. He moved to Florida and worked for Disney for 15 employe prott agast Florida’s “don’t say gay” bill. One of the unsung LGBTQ+ hero of Disney lore, for example, is Howard Ashman, the openly gay lyricist and producer, who died of an Aids-related illns 1991.

“You didn’t always feel safe as a gay kid, now you’re walkg down Ma Street, USA, and everythg is manicured, everythg is clean. This was the park’s first Gay Day, and has ntued ever sce.

Compose: Guardian DignIn the early years, Disney would warn “straight” visors when was Gay Day and hand out whe T-shirts to non-participants who had advertently turned up wearg red.

While Disney do not officially regnise Gay Day, soon me to appreciate the mercial clout of the LGBTQ+ muny. There is no end of rabow-loured Disney merchandise on sale, and Disney acmodat and facilat the Gay Day schle of events, cludg a week-long ftival takg place across the cy, wh club nights, drag shows, pool parti, and special hotel his first Florida Gay Day 1998, Shapiro found a sister Gay Day Anaheim at the Los Angel Disneyland. While Orlando Gay Days are more party-centric, the lower-key Anaheim event tak place mostly si the park.

Disney now hosts a table at s wele centre promotg fairytale gay weddgs at Disneyland and hosts premier at Gay Day. “Gay Day was never formed wh a polil agenda, ” says Shapiro.

Even if s “openly gay character” proclamatns rarely live up to the billg, there have been fleetg referenc to same-sex relatnships movi cludg Toy Story 4 (two women drop off their dghter at krgarten); Onward (Lena Wahe’s p refers to her girliend); the live-actn Bety and the Beast remake (the character LeFou, played by Josh Gad, is telegraphed as gay and danc wh another man, although not even Gad was particularly proud of that one; “I don’t thk we did jtice to what a real gay character a Disney film should be, ” he admted).

Jack Whehall went a step further, playg a gay man Disney’s live-actn film Jungle Cise last year.

Photograph: Chris Livgston/Getty ImagWhen DeSantis first announced the “Don’t say gay” bill early March, Chapek’s rponse was to stay silent. Pixar employe released a statement allegg that Disney executiv had mand cuts om “nearly every moment of overtly gay affectn” s movi.

But potentially more harmful than the attacks on Disney is the “Don’t say gay” bill self, which is likely to e long-lastg harm to Florida’s young LGBTQ+ people and their wh prev ocsns when nservativ have “gone after Mickey Moe”, this latt attack is likely to blow over. Durg a staff meetg on Florida’s recent enactment of the Parental Rights Edutn bill, an executive producer at Disney said she was advancg a “not-at-all-secret gay agenda” to sert queerns to children’s Ravene, executive producer for Disney Televisn Animatn, talked about how the stud’s treatment of her progrsive ias fied her negative expectatns of the pany, a vio obtaed by journalist Christopher Rufo.