Disney's 'Lightyear' has a gay kiss, and is now banned or censored several untri | Fortune

Contents:

• SAME-SEX KISS RTORED PIXAR’S ‘LIGHTYEAR’ FOLLOWG STAFF UPROAR OVER ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL (EXCLUSIVE)
• LIGHTYEAR: PIXAR RTOR SAME-SEX KISS FOLLOWG ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL BACKLASH
• 'LIGHTYEAR' STAR CHRIS EVANS LLS CRICS OF DISNEY PIXAR'S GAY KISSG SCENE ‘IDTS’
• LIGHTYEAR GETS WARNG SIGN FOR GAY KISS SCENE AT OKLAHOMA THEATER, SPARKG BACKLASH
• LIGHTYEAR PRODUCER EXPLAS IMPORTANCE OF RTORG THE FILM'S GAY KISS
• OKLAHOMA MOVIE THEATER POSTS 'WARNG' SIGN ABOUT 'LIGHTYEAR' GAY KISS, LOL CALLS THE MOVE 'BIGOTED'
• DISNEY WILL RTORE GAY KISS TO LIGHTYEAR FOLLOWG “DON’T SAY GAY” BACKLASH

SAME-SEX KISS RTORED PIXAR’S ‘LIGHTYEAR’ FOLLOWG STAFF UPROAR OVER ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL (EXCLUSIVE)

Me unr fire for s ial silence regardg a Florida bill rtrictg classroom discsn of sexual orientatn and genr inty — dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by crics. Durg the tumult, Pixar employe lled out Disney executiv for cuttg “nearly every moment of overtly gay affectn” om the animatn stud’s films.

On March 9, LGBTQ employe and alli at Pixar Animatn Studs sent a jot statement to Walt Disney Company learship claimg that Disney executiv had actively censored “overtly gay affectn” s feature films. The stunng allegatn — ma as part of a larger prott over the pany’s lack of public rponse to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill — did not clu which Pixar films had weathered the censorship, nor which specific creative cisns were cut or altered. Followg the uproar surroundg the Pixar employe’ statement and Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s handlg of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, however, the kiss was restated to the movie last week.

The most overtly LGBTQ project Pixar’s non is a 2020 short film, “Out, ” about a gay man stgglg wh g out to his parents — which the stud released on Disney Pl as part of s SparkShorts program.

LIGHTYEAR: PIXAR RTOR SAME-SEX KISS FOLLOWG ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL BACKLASH

“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, ” the statement says. More:Disney CEO fally speaks out on 'Don't Say Gay. ' But where's the gay Disney fairy tale?

'LIGHTYEAR' STAR CHRIS EVANS LLS CRICS OF DISNEY PIXAR'S GAY KISSG SCENE ‘IDTS’

The same-sex kiss first ma headl last month, when Pixar animators spoke out agast Disney an open letter obtaed by Variety, sayg that rporate executiv had mand cuts "om nearly every moment of overtly gay affectn.

But was later rtored light of Disney's "Don't Say Gay" ntroversy, when was revealed the pany had donated roughly $200, 000 to Republin policians who supported the bill, which forbids discsns of sexual orient elementary school classrooms. "Other live-actn Disney films have relegated queer characters to the background, like a blk-and-you'll-miss- kiss between two women "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, " or the "exclively gay moment" of Josh Gad's LeFou dancg wh another man "Bety and the Beast. Followg a year marked by turmoil wh s LGBTQ+ fan base and employe, Disney is releasg s first-ever movie that shows a gay kiss.

Lightyear is not the first Disney film to be censored other untri for s pictn of gay characters. After ially refg to ment on Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, the pany faced a wave of cricism om employe and nsumers. “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, ” their letter read.

LIGHTYEAR GETS WARNG SIGN FOR GAY KISS SCENE AT OKLAHOMA THEATER, SPARKG BACKLASH

Beyond qutng s public stance, fans and employe also cricized Disney for donatg to Florida policians who supported the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. ' | Cred: Pixar News that Disney had removed s first on-screen same-sex kiss me amid reports that the pany had donated large sums of money to Florida policians supportg the "Don't Say Gay" bill, which stat, part, that nversatns around sexual orientatn and genr inty "may not occur krgarten through gra 3.

A first look at Disney and Pixar's "Lightyear" on Wednday nfirmed a same-sex kiss had been rtored followg recent kiss occurred the first 30 mut of the movie, which was shown to an dience Wednday at CemaCon, acrdg to kiss was reportedly removed and then restated after backlash over the lack of rponse om Disney over Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill. A first look at Disney Pixar's "Lightyear" nfirmed that a same-sex kiss scene had been rtored to the film followg ntroversy over Disney's lack of rponse to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill. The moment occurs between the character Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba) and her partner the animated 'S SHORT FILM ‘OUT’ FEATURES FIRST GAY MAIN CHARACTERThe "Lightyear" character isn't the first LGBTQ-oriented character a Pixar most proment character is a cyclops police officer named Specter featured the animated film "Onward.

LIGHTYEAR PRODUCER EXPLAS IMPORTANCE OF RTORG THE FILM'S GAY KISS

"CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER The move after a letter om Pixar employe acced Disney executiv of mandg cuts om "nearly every moment of overtly gay affectn, " acrdg to a letter sent to the pany by the employe. (Getty Imag)The rtoratn of the same-sex kiss after employe at Pixar acced Disney of censorg same-sex affectn Pixar executiv have wanted to cut "nearly every moment of overtly gay affectn… regardls of when there is prott om both the creative teams and executive learship at Pixar, " acrdg to a letter om the employe sent to Disney and obtaed by Variety.

: It was ially cut om the film, then rtored after ternal uproar when was revealed Disney had donated $200, 000 to Republin policians who supported Florida's “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which forbids discsns of sexual orientatn elementary school Chris Evans' Buzz is more fantastic than plastic Pixar's spiffy 'Lightyear'The iendship between Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Chris Evans) and his manr Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba) is at the heart of "Lightyear. ': Chris Evans on 'Lightyear, ' playg bad guys and beg 'a romantic person'In March, the kiss was rtored after Pixar animators spoke out agast Disney  an open letter obtaed by Variety, sayg executiv had mand cuts "om nearly every moment of overtly gay affectn. Playg a character like Alisha a high-profile movie the wake of “Don’t Say Gay” and other siar legislatn “means everythg, ” Aduba adds.

Get our ee weekly email for all the latt cematic news om our film cric Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cematic email for eePixar has reportedly rtored a same-sex kiss shared between two characters the forthg Lightyear, after staff released an open letter cricisg Disney’s rponse to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” new animated film featur Chris Evans as the voice of Buzz Lightyear and seeks to tell the orig story of the beloved Toy Story character and his journey to fy and an exclive report by Variety, a source close to the productn has nfirmed that a kiss between proment female character Hawthorne (voiced by Uzo Aduba) and her female partner was restated last week. While the nature of the characters’ relatnship hadn’t been qutned by productn, their kiss had reportedly been news follows the release of an open letter on 9 March by Pixar staff and LGBTQ alli cricisg Disney for havg same-sex reprentatn s films “shaved down to cmbs” the letter, staff further lled on Disney to “immediately whdraw all fancial support om the legislators behd the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill” a handful of LGBTQ characters have been rporated Pixar’s feature films.

OKLAHOMA MOVIE THEATER POSTS 'WARNG' SIGN ABOUT 'LIGHTYEAR' GAY KISS, LOL CALLS THE MOVE 'BIGOTED'

Notably, 2020 film Onward, the ma character Specter mak a reference to her film featur Chris Evans as the voice of Buzz Lightyear (YouTube)The same year, the stud released short film Out, about a closeted gay man’s stggle to e out to his rponse to the Pixar staff letter, Out director Steven Hunt told Variety: “I stand by my lleagu. Disney and Pixar have received substantial attentn over the past months after employe alleged that rporate executiv cut “nearly every moment of overtly gay affectn” recent films, “regardls of when there is prott om both the creative teams and executive learship at Pixar. Ron DeSantis’ ntroversial “Parental Rights Edutn” bill, or, as many lled , the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

Strange World, g this November, will feature the first-ever gay teen romance, and Disney+ currently boasts an entire “pri” llectn on s streamg service. "Lightyear" actor Chris Evans, who plays the tular role Walt Disney’s new Pixar movie, has rpond to crics who say the film’s kissg scene between two female characters ph a pro-gay agenda. (Getty Imag)"Every time there’s been social advancement as we wake up, the Amerin story, the human story is one of nstant social awakeng and growth and that’s what mak good, " Evans 'S SHORT FILM ‘OUT’ FEATURES FIRST GAY MAIN CHARACTERThe ment as some crics of the film have argued the cisn to clu LGBTQ reprentatn and a scene wh a gay married uple kissg a film marketed to children was on-screen kiss tak place between Hawthorne, a female lead voiced by Uzo Aduba, and another female, PIXAR'S 'LIGHTYEAR' SEES SAME-SEX KISS RESTORED AMID CONTROVERSY WITH QUEER CHARACTER: REPORTIt was reportedly removed om the film earlier this year, amid ntroversy over Disney’s quietns over Florida’s "Don’t Say Gay" bill that barred nversatns about LGBTQ inty K-12 classrooms, Variety reported March of this year, cg "a source close to the productn.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTERIt will not be shown the Uned Arab Emirat or Malaysia, due to the on-screen gay kiss. Variety reports that the rtoratn is happeng followg allegatns that Disney's rporate reviews have rulted the removal of LGBT ntent om the pany's scene volv Alicia Hawthorne, a Space Ranger who is also a gay woman of lor. "Lu, Insi Out, and Soul are some of the films ced, wh stud learship allegedly removg signifiers of queer inty om background shots among other has recently been mired ntroversy over s moary support of legislators behd Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, which prohibs the teachg of LGBTQ subjects the classroom.

DISNEY WILL RTORE GAY KISS TO LIGHTYEAR FOLLOWG “DON’T SAY GAY” BACKLASH

But was rtored when the pany me unr fire for their rponse to the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” Florida. The move followed a a strongly-word letter to Walt Disney CEO Bob Chapek om Pixar's LGBTQIA+ employe and their alli sent objectg to his cisn not to ph back more forcefully agast Florida's ntroversial "Don't Say Gay" bill.

Acrdg to Variety, the film has been banned the Gulf natns of Sdi Arabia, the Uned Arab Emirat and Kuwa, where homosexual nduct is still illegal. S., but was restated after was revealed Disney had donated $200, 000 to some Republin policians who supported Florida's ntroversial "Don't Say Gay" bill, which forbids discsns of sexual orientatn Florida add that playg the character Alisha the wake of the "Don't Say Gay" bill "means everythg.