Disney’s “Don’t Say Gay” stance betrayed s LGBTQ fans - Vox

Contents:

• DISNEY’S “DON’T SAY GAY” STANCE WASN’T THE FIRST TIME BETRAYED S LGBTQ FANS
• OPN: 3 THGS DISNEY SHOULD DO AFTER S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BLUNR
• 'I LET YOU DOWN': DISNEY CEO APOLOGIZ FOR 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL RPONSE
• AFTER PROTTS, DISNEY CEO SPEAKS OUT AGAST FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL
• LGBTQ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR DISNEY'S GAY DAYS CELEBRATN
• I'M NOT GAY

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

”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.

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.

OPN: 3 THGS DISNEY SHOULD DO AFTER S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BLUNR

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.

“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. Over the last few s, no pany has done a better job at pturg fans across seemgly every kd of mographic — all rac, all religns, young and old, straight and gay — all while slyly beg the most powerful entertament enty on the pla. Over the past week, the entertament juggernt flipped and flopped an attempt to reassure s employe and s massive fanbase about s posn on Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

After an open letter om LGBTQ Pixar staff and their alli alleged that Disney had actively scbbed “overtly gay affectn” and queer reprentatn om their movi, Chapek emailed employe that the pany would halt all polil donatns Florida on Friday, and donate to groups fightg siar legislatn other stat. How Disney Gays feel about the pany and s “Don’t Say Gay” stance. He was also gay and died of AIDS 1991.

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

Berg self-intifi as a “Disney Gay, ” havg worked at the Disney Store the Mall of Ameri. Dpe the existence of sgg flatware and an unrsea kgdom where the buff mermaid sea kg’s favore thg is mils featurg his many dghters, there are no actual gay characters Bety and the Beast or The Ltle Mermaid. “Ltle Mermaid had songs wrten by a gay person the late ’80s.

Sce the ceptn of “Gay Days” (a day where LGBTQ people go en masse to a Disney theme park) the 1990s, Disney has passively supported the unofficially anized celebratns. Berg explaed that the small actns have allowed queer fans to fet about how Disneyland once had a policy that prohibed same-sex dancg, ultimately stck down by the Orange County Superr Court 1984, or that a gay executive filed a sexual orientatn discrimatn su agast the pany 2021. Disney’s stance on “Don’t Say Gay” and s alignment wh Florida’s anti-gay lawmakers was a remr that the pany isn’t as progrsive as says is.

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

“Listen, if you were emotnally moved any way by WandaVisn, you’re the same pot wh the rt of Disney Gays, ” Sass said, summarizg how hard is for anyone upset about the “Don’t Say Gay” bill to avoid Disney’s properti.

LGBTQ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR DISNEY'S GAY DAYS CELEBRATN

There hasn’t been nearly as much nversatn about how “Don’t Say Gay” would affect Universal Studs and s Wizardg World of Harry Potter, which also operate Orlando. “I would like to see Disney be overtly gay and be overtly vol about their support for s LGBTQ fans and employe, ” said Garcia, explag that anythg but ser actn jt seems like a PR move. Garcia, who says he is “hella gay” and has over 95, 000 followers on Instagram, promot Disney’s theme parks on social media.

He has also posted extensively about his displeasure wh Disney’s “Don’t Say Gay” stance. We've got gays, asexuals, lbians, sapsexuals, aromantics — I uld go on! 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.

I'M NOT GAY

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. 'I am eply gay': Kate McKnon mocks Florida's ntroversial bill. First, experienced backlash over s failure to nmn Florida’s new “Don’t Say Gay” law, which will ban schools om teachg stunts the third gra and below about genr inty and sexual orientatn.