Disney CEO Backs LGBTQ Communy After 'Don't Say Gay' Bill Backlash - Variety

Contents:

• DISNEY’S “DON’T SAY GAY” STANCE WASN’T THE FIRST TIME BETRAYED S LGBTQ FANS
• 5 SIGNS THAT DISNEY HAS SUPPORTED GAY RIGHTS FOR OVER 2 DES
• AFTER ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL BACKLASH, DISNEY CEO EXPRS ‘UNWAVERG SUPPORT’ FOR LGBTQ COMMUNY
• DISNEY EXEC VOWS MORE GAY CHARACTERS AMID HUGE CLIVY PH

DISNEY’S “DON’T SAY GAY” STANCE WASN’T THE FIRST TIME BETRAYED S LGBTQ FANS

Thank you to all who have reached out to me sharg your pa, tratn and sadns over the pany’s rponse to the Florida “Don’t Say Gay” bill. In the past, they have turned down ias of gay characters, like Elsa, and even moved shows wh gay characters, like Love, Victor, to Hulu and other streamg works bee wouldn't promote 'fay-iendly' ntent.

The short is ne mut long and giv gay fans the spotlight and hope for more LGBTQ+ characters the future.

5 SIGNS THAT DISNEY HAS SUPPORTED GAY RIGHTS FOR OVER 2 DES

However, there was some ntroversy when Disney st a straight actor, Jack Whehall, a gay role, for the upg film, Jungle Cise. Along wh havg a gay actor, Disney also briefly, very briefly, let fans know that LeFou (Josh Gad), the 2017 live adaptatn of Bety and the Beast was gay. The nod to his sexualy was a tribute to the 19991 movie's late lyricist, Howard Ashman, who was gay.

AFTER ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL BACKLASH, DISNEY CEO EXPRS ‘UNWAVERG SUPPORT’ FOR LGBTQ COMMUNY

The director of the live-actn film, Bill Condon, is also gay, so this was a historic moment for the movie. ”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. 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.

DISNEY EXEC VOWS MORE GAY CHARACTERS AMID HUGE CLIVY PH

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.