How Bob Chapek's 'Don't Say Gay' Rponse Sparked Staff Revolt - Variety

Contents:

• AFTER PROTTS, DISNEY CEO SPEAKS OUT AGAST FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL
• DISNEY WORKERS WALK OUT OVER THE PANY'S RPONSE TO SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL
• DISNEY CEO APOLOGIZ TO EMPLOYE FOR RPONSE TO FLORIDA 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL
• 'I LET YOU DOWN': DISNEY CEO APOLOGIZ FOR 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL RPONSE
• BOB CHAPEK’S BIG MISSTEP: HOW DISNEY CEO’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ RPONSE SPARKED STAFF REVOLT
• 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
• DISNEY CREATIVE LEARS EXPRS TRATN TO CEO CHAPEK OVER 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL RPONSE
• DISNEY RPONDS TO CRICISM FOR REFG TO SPEAK OUT AGAST 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL
• DISNEY WORKERS PROTT THE PANY'S RPONSE TO THE SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL
• WHAT DISNEY'S RPONSE TO THE 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL HAS TO DO WH LGBTQ+ REPRENTATN FILM
• DISNEY’S RPONSE TO FLORIDA’S “DON’T SAY GAY” BILL BEG LAW IS A BIG SHIFT
• 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.

DISNEY WORKERS WALK OUT OVER THE PANY'S RPONSE TO SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL

"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.

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.

DISNEY CEO APOLOGIZ TO EMPLOYE FOR RPONSE TO FLORIDA 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL

The full-sle walkout me after Disney employe planned a seri of smaller walkouts durg their 15-mute breaks to urge the pany to take a stronger stance agast the Parental Rights Edutn legislatn, which advot have dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill. "The recent statements by The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) learship regardg the Florida legislature's recent 'Don't Say Gay' bill have utterly failed to match the magnu of the threat to LGBTQIA+ safety reprented by this legislatn, " an open letter by Disney employe reads. Disney will pse all polil donatns Florida after tense cricism over how the media giant rpond to state legislatn that would lim discsn of LGBTQ issu schools, CEO Bob Chapek said a letter to employe also apologized to his lleagu for not takg a more forceful stand agast what activists ll the "Don't Say Gay" legislatn Florida.

"Disney has faced tense public scty and ternal cricism over how rpond to the "Don't Say Gay" legislatn, wh some fltg Chapek for sayg a memo that the pany n make the "biggt impact" by "creatg a more clive world through the spirg ntent we produce. Several years ago, they chose Southern California partly for the parks and beme Magic Key passholrs so they uld vis Plows' ardor for Disney was recently shaken by the pany's rponse to what crics have dubbed Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, which would rtrict speech on sexual orientatn and genr inty  public school classrooms.

DISNEY CEO (FINALLY) SPEAKS OUT:But where's the gay Disney fairy tale?

'I LET YOU DOWN': DISNEY CEO APOLOGIZ FOR 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL RPONSE

'DON'T SAY GAY':Lawmaker behd Florida bill pulls amendment requirg schools to out stunts"Right now, I'm lookg at my Disneyland lanyard, which has Pri ps all over , " she said Tuday.

Disney's rponse to Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' billWalt Disney Co. She started an onle petn mandg Disney publicly "nounce the 'Don't Say Gay' bill and vow not to fund the sponsors aga.

BOB CHAPEK’S BIG MISSTEP: HOW DISNEY CEO’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ RPONSE SPARKED STAFF REVOLT

"Dena lled Wednday's show of support "a ltle too late, " while notg Disney is quick to "take our money" when to "Pri, Gay Days and all the merchandise they have surroundg Pri Month. ”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.

Photograph: Chris Pizzello/Invisn/APYet the “don’t say gay” bill wrong-footed Chapek, who succeed Bob Iger as chief executive Febary 2020.

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

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.

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

Last year’s film Jungle Cise featured a proment gay character: McGregor Houghton, played by Jack Whehall. “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 CEO Bob Chapek is facg a major tt of his learship, after the pany’s botched rponse to an anti-gay bill Florida sparked a staff revolt among LGBTQ employe and their supporters. Many of Disney’s LGBTQ employe have been urgg the pany to cut off donatns to lawmakers who supported the bill, which opponents have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” legislatn.

DISNEY CREATIVE LEARS EXPRS TRATN TO CEO CHAPEK OVER 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL RPONSE

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. 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.

DISNEY RPONDS TO CRICISM FOR REFG TO SPEAK OUT AGAST 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL

"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. Charl Kpa | APSenr lears across Disney's creative studs have exprsed their tratn to CEO Bob Chapek about his handlg of the "Don't Say Gay" bill Florida, people faiar wh the matter told met wh senr learship groups om the media giant's creative studs after the pany's annual meetg March 9.

DISNEY WORKERS PROTT THE PANY'S RPONSE TO THE SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL

Employe also raised ncerns the wake of the meetg, sayg Chapek didn't rpond crilly to homophobic ments ma by a shareholr durg the Q&A perd, acrdg to the people, who asked to rema anonymo to discs ternal nversatns at and Disney faced prsure for not g out earlier opposn to the Parental Rights Edutn bill Florida. It has been dubbed "Don't Say Gay" and cricized by advot who believe the bill uld do harm to margalized the past week, executiv have been hostg town halls and meetg wh employe to hear their tratns and ncerns, the people said. "The vatn to the virtual event, which went out on Thursday morng, reads: "Employe n expect an hont nversatn addrsg the followg: How do the 'Don't Say Gay' bill and other pendg legislatn impact LGBTQ+ kids and fai?

Only a actn of employe have been g to work on the did not ment for this 's email to employe on Friday addrsed the broar wrote: "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. "He announced that the pany is creasg s support for advocy groups to bat siar legislatn to the "Don't Say Gay" bill other stat and is psg all polil donatns the state of Florida. Protters had been llg upon Disney to speak out agast the "Don't Say Gay" bill after reportedly donatg money to s sponsors.

WHAT DISNEY'S RPONSE TO THE 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL HAS TO DO WH LGBTQ+ REPRENTATN FILM

On Febary 25th, 2022, the Florida Hoe of Reprentativ passed the so-lled "Don’t Say Gay" bill, which is currently on the agenda for the Florida Senate for Monday. But The Walt Disney Company, on Friday, March 4th, 2022, rpond to the lls for actn over the Florida Hoe of Reprentativ' passage of a "Don’t Say Gay" bill, which would lim what classrooms n teach about sexual orientatn and genr, by sisteppg the issue, per The Wrap. The "Don't Say Gay" bill, officially lled the Parental Rights Edutn bill, not only outlaws teachg about sexual orientatn and genr inty om krgarten through Gra 3 "or a manner that is not age-appropriate or velopmentally appropriate for stunts acrdance wh state standards, " but also allows parents to sue schools and dividual teachers who engage the topics.

Bob Iger Calls the 'Don't Say Gay' Bill a 'Hateful Bill'. However, Disney reportedly donated money to every sponsor and -sponsor of the "Don’t Say Gay" bill. One of the sponsors that Disney cut a check to, acrdg to the Orlando Sentel, "Ola Republin Dennis Baxley, has backed anti-gay legislatn for years — cludg laws to prevent gay upl om adoptg kids who otherwise wouldn’t have a fay at all.

DISNEY’S RPONSE TO FLORIDA’S “DON’T SAY GAY” BILL BEG LAW IS A BIG SHIFT

Baxley once pared kids who live wh same-sex parents to kids raised by alholics and abers and later said: 'I’m not phobic, but I simply n’t affirm homosexualy. Last week, Disney and s CEO Bob Chapek bungled their rponse to Florida’s ntroversial bill dubbed “Don’t Say Gay. Disney workers prott the pany's rponse to the so-lled 'Don't Say Gay' bill Employe are prsurg Disney to take a stronger stand agast legislatn that lims stctn on homosexualy and transgenr issu.

Disney workers prott the pany's rponse to the so-lled 'Don't Say Gay' bill.

Employe are prsurg Disney to take a stronger stand agast legislatn that lims stctn on homosexualy and transgenr issu.

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

MALEONAU: Bee, I mean, I've never met so many wonrful people that love the Disney brand so But he's worried about the impact of what opponents ll the Don't Say Gay bill will have on gay people the state, cludg himself and his fiance, who are both bisexual. In recent weeks, the Republin Florida ernor Ron Dantis is set to sign a bill to the Hoe of Reprentativ tled "Hoe Bill 1557" which has bee known lloquially as the Don't Say Gay Bill, due to the l seeks to enact around tn on LGBTQIA+, genr, and sexualy. While the bill adds that schools are not required to munite rmatn to parents if tors believe there is a risk of “abe, abandonment, or neglect, ” draws a le the sand around what is nsired 'acceptable homophobic behavur' vs 'abe'.

As a rult, on Tuday, March 22, Disney employe staged a walkout to mand actnable steps om Disney over the Don't Say Gay Bill. Axelle/Ber-Griff//Getty ImagThere were those associated wh Disney who uldn't cease work, cludg Moon Knight star Osr Isaac who, when asked for ment, told Variety: "I gus my ment would be [starts sgg] gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gayyyyyy!

Up until recently, Disney remaed quiet on the bill, but as well know evokg silence the face of discrimatn is sidg wh an opprsor, and Disney's se they are sidg wh homophobic bigotry.