How Disney botched Florida 'Don't Say Gay' flap

Contents:

• AFTER PROTTS, DISNEY CEO SPEAKS OUT AGAST FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL
• DISNEY EMPLOYE STAGE WALKOUT TO MAND ACTN AGAST 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL
• DISNEY VOWS TO HELP REPEAL 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW, SAYS FLORIDA GOV. DESANTIS SHOULDN'T HAVE SIGNED
• ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ UNEXPECTED SHOWDOWN BETWEEN FLORIDA, DISNEY RPORATN
• EX-DISNEY EXEC ON FLORIDA ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ FLAP: ‘THEY PISSED OFF THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT’
• DISNEY'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' MISSTEP HOLDS A KEY LSON: CEOS ARE HUMAN-RIGHTS LEARS NOW, WHETHER THEY LIKE OR NOT
• STRICTLY LEGAL: SU OVER 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL FAILS
• DISNEY TO LOSE SPECIAL TAX STAT FOR OPPOSG FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL
• DISNEY CEO APOLOGIZ FOR ‘SILENCE’ ON ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL

AFTER PROTTS, DISNEY CEO SPEAKS OUT AGAST FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL

The so-lled 'Don't Say Gay' bill was passed by Florida's Hoe and Senate and is head to Gov.

Ron DeSantis Wednday morng, "to exprs our disappotment and ncern that if the legislatn be law, uld be ed to unfairly target gay, lbian, non-bary and transgenr kids and fai. "The Human Rights Campaign will not accept this 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, and if they do, to work to get them off the books, " says Joni Madison, Interim Print of the Human Rights Campaign a statement. Acrdg to the acuntabily news se Popular Informatn, " the last two years, Disney has donated $197, 162 to members of the Florida legislature that have already voted for the 'Don't Say Gay' legislatn, " cludg to sponsors of the bill, Florida Rep.

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

On Sunday, before the so-lled "Don't Say Gay" bill passed the state Senate, Siemon posted an impassned vio plea llg for Disney to say the legislatn is wrong. Siemon creds one of his middle school teachers for helpg him unrstand that was OK to be gay.

Siemon implored the pany to stop supportg those policians, endg wh the words, "Disney, please say gay.

”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”.

DISNEY VOWS TO HELP REPEAL 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW, SAYS FLORIDA GOV. DESANTIS SHOULDN'T HAVE SIGNED

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. 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.

‘DON’T SAY GAY’ UNEXPECTED SHOWDOWN BETWEEN FLORIDA, DISNEY RPORATN

Last year’s film Jungle Cise featured a proment gay character: McGregor Houghton, played by Jack Whehall.

EX-DISNEY EXEC ON FLORIDA ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ FLAP: ‘THEY PISSED OFF THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT’

“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. LGBTQ workers and employee alli at The Walt Disney Company staged a walkout prott of Florida's Parental Rights Edutn bill, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by employe have been walkg out each day sce March 15 om 3 to 3:15 p.

"The Walt Disney Company’s (TWDC) LGBTQIA+ muny and their alli are termed to take a stand agast TWDC’s apathy the face of the bigoted 'Don’t Say Gay' bill put forth by the FL state legislature, " the prott's webse employe prott agast Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, Glendale, California, March 22, Chiu/Rters"The recent statements and lack of actn by TWDC learship regardg the 'Don’t Say Gay' bill have utterly failed to match the magnu of the threat to LGBTQIA+ safety reprented by this legislatn, " the webse says.

DISNEY'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' MISSTEP HOLDS A KEY LSON: CEOS ARE HUMAN-RIGHTS LEARS NOW, WHETHER THEY LIKE OR NOT

It would also allow parents to sue schools that engage the employe prott agast Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, Glendale, California, March 22, Chiu/RtersDisney CEO Bob Chapek has been cricized for his rponse to the bill, first for his silence on the legislatn and later for not outright nmng the bill his public has sce said he would pledge $5 ln to groups advotg for LGTBQ+ rights and protectns and add that he has ntacted Gov.

Dunn herself took a moment of silence durg her broadst employe prott agast Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, Glendale, California, March 22, Chiu/Rters"We unrstand the gravy of this legislatn and also how is affectg so many fai across this untry, and bee of that our allyship is gog to take a ont seat, and wh that, we're gog to pse solidary, " Dunn 's Carolyn Peck and Courtney Lyle also remaed silent for two mut solidary wh their workers durg the Women's NCAA Tournament.

Ron DeSantis signed Florida's so-lled "Don't Say Gay" bill to law on Monday, the Walt Disney Company nmned the legislatn and vowed to help have repealed.

STRICTLY LEGAL: SU OVER 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL FAILS

"Florida's HB 1557, also known as the 'Don't Say Gay' bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed to law, " the pany said a statement. "Walt Disney employe and monstrators durg a rally agast the Florida "Don't Say Gay" bill at Griffh Park Glendale, California, U. Erred s handlg of the ntroversy surroundg the so-lled “Don’t Say Gay” law Florida to the pot that the pany alienated s alli on both sis of the polil divi, acrdg to current and former executiv.

DISNEY TO LOSE SPECIAL TAX STAT FOR OPPOSG FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL

The “Don’t Say Gay” bill, as was lled by s crics, banned the teachg of sexual or genr inty to stunts up to fourth gra. Ron DeSantis blasted Disney after the pany me out opposn to the so-lled “Don’t Say Gay”. Ron DeSantis, who signed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill to law, also moved to strip Disney of s tonomo stat over s theme parks and around Orlando.

A strategist said Disney's rponse to the so-lled Don't Say Gay law "didn't please anyone. Opponents ll the law "Don't Say Gay" bee rtricts stctn on sexual orientatn or genr inty schools and bans krgarten through third gra.

DISNEY CEO APOLOGIZ FOR ‘SILENCE’ ON ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL

The basis for the su was that Disney's directors and officers allegedly vlated their rporate fiduciary duti by opposg Florida HB 1557 – also known as the "don't say gay" HB 1557 was first passed, Disney took no public posn on the bill.

Florida legislators passed a bill on Thursday that would revoke Walt Disney Co’s special tax stat a move wily seen as t-for-tat for the pany’s opposn to a new “don’t say gay” state law limg discsn of LGBTQ+ issu bill now heads to the sk of Governor Ron DeSantis, who is all but guaranteed to sign Republin-led state hoe Florida voted 70-38 to do away wh a special tax district created by a 1967 law that allows Disney to self-ern the roughly 25, 000-acre Orlando area where s Walt Disney World theme park plex is loted. ”Disney me unr fire last month by many the LGBTQ+ muny, cludg some Disney employe, for ially failg to take a public stand agast the “don’t say gay” measure, then nmned the legislatn and said would pse all s polil donatns set off a storm of nmnatn agast the pany by many Republins. DeSantis, a Republin who is a potential ndidate for his party’s 2024 printial nomatn, wants to strike back at Disney for s opposn to a law that bans classroom stctn on sexual orientatn and genr inty for stunts krgarten through third ernor signed the legislatn, dubbed the “don’t say gay” bill by opponents, last law, which is to take effect on 1 July, also prohibs such teachg that “is not age appropriate or velopmentally appropriate” for olr stunts.