The controversy surrounding Disney's support of nearly every politician behind Florida's chillingly dystopian "Don't Say Gay" bill, which makes discussion of sexuality or gender in schools punishable by law, has intensified amid new allegations from Disney employees.
CEO Bob Chapek has repeatedly refused to withdraw the company's support for the legislators behind the bill, saying Disney instead will continue to focus on "unwavering support" of the LGBTQ community via the "inclusive" content the company produces.
But a group of LGBTQ and allied employees at the company's animation subsidiary Pixar is calling foul on that characterization, revealing in a statement Disney execs routinely force them to censor moments of "gay affection" from films.
In a statement attributed to \u201cthe LGBTQIA+ employees of Pixar, and their allies," employees of the animation studio allege that Disney corporate executives have demanded cuts from \u201cnearly every moment of overtly gay affection"https://bit.ly/3pUeBja— Variety (@Variety) 1646969400
The statement comes on the heels of a company-wide memo Chapek sent Monday in which the CEO justified Disney's refusal to speak out against the "Don't Say Gay" bill or its legislators.
“The biggest impact we can have in creating a more inclusive world is through the inspiring content we produce, the welcoming culture we create here and the diverse community organizations we support, including those representing the LGBTQ+ community.”
That description of Disney's mission and environment is diametrically opposed to the one described by Pixar employees. They say in their statement Chapek and other executives have demanded cuts from “nearly every moment of overtly gay affection" in films like 2020's Onward, "regardless of when there is protest from both the creative teams and executive leadership at Pixar.”
The statement goes on to directly rebut Chapek's rosy claims about Disney's role in the LGBTQ community.
“We at Pixar have personally witnessed beautiful stories, full of diverse characters, come back from Disney corporate reviews shaved down to crumbs of what they once were …"
"Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it.”
The statement has also led to scrutiny of former CEO Robert Iger, who has mostly been spared criticism for the "Don't Say Gay" controversy by the industry and the company's devoted fanbase, because it reveals Disney's anti-LGBTQ environment long predates his December 2021 departure from the company.
On Twitter, people were outraged by the Pixar employees' revelations and cheered them for speaking out.
It's already time for Bob Chapek to go.\n\nYou don't fund the people passing hate bills and then only feign objection AFTER it passes.\n\nhttps://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/1501728898865844225?s=20&t=pLs78KJhU4sCvREo4VWoyg\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/EpzEyYYW0w— Get vaccinated. Against COVID & fascism. web rant (@Get vaccinated. Against COVID & fascism. web rant) 1646886331
Good God.\n\n"Executive leadership at Pixar" that would mean Pete Doctor, the PRESIDENT of Pixar, actively opposed cutting gay Pixar characters out of their films, yet Disney corporate executives forced Pixar to remove them.pic.twitter.com/GmOMReRLED— Christian Hannah (@Christian Hannah) 1646881365
You can't make this shit up pic.twitter.com/bfxk4MXhrB— Tad Scace (@Tad Scace) 1646879949
https://twitter.com/thr/status/1501764501795975176\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/8RhZl6lcS7— Ryan James Dee (@Ryan James Dee) 1646945804
We knew this was an issue with Disney's animated TV shows for a while and things got somewhat better with The Owl House.\n\nI'm gonna need every Pixar / Disney Animation Studios employee to speak up about this censorship so we can actually get full length animated LGBTQIA+ films.https://twitter.com/DiscussingFilm/status/1501769091962396673\u00a0\u2026— Ethan Hanbury \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 | 3D Art (@Ethan Hanbury \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 | 3D Art) 1646918169
pic.twitter.com/84iRE4ybFy— Mr.A_N_T (@Mr.A_N_T) 1646916192
This company has been a window of hope for gay kids watching shows and our community has been treated well at parks for decades. Their gross, gut less LACK of backbone to stand up for the community responsible for an outsized piece of their creative portfolio is UNACCEPTABLE.https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1501749275205713931\u00a0\u2026— Still, STILL Bitter Southerner (@Still, STILL Bitter Southerner) 1647017105
I think Disney is approaching a defining moment on this issue; if it just tries to wait until the noise dies down, it risks losing a generation for whom the principle of LGBT equality is foundational. >— Mark Harris (@Mark Harris) 1646883495
Iger breathing a sigh of relief, and Variety said, not so fast\n\n"The claim of censorship by Pixar employees is particularly damning for former CEO Robert Iger, who oversaw Disney\u2019s purchase of Pixar in 2006 and just exited the company in December 2021."https://variety.com/2022/film/news/disney-pixar-same-sex-affection-censorship-dont-say-gay-bill-1235200582/#recipient_hashed=c33e6ce112041a31ad1ff06224b63d03e6e3c34b4c2aebcfbf0e60ad25bce46c\u00a0\u2026— Aliaa (she/her) (@Aliaa (she/her)) 1646938065
While @Disney was donating to the GOP bigots who designed the "Don't Say Gay" bill, it was erasing any hint of #LGBTQ+ affection from @Pixar's films. At least now we know where the company firmly stands, despite CEO Chapek's attempts to mislead the public.https://variety.com/2022/film/news/disney-pixar-same-sex-affection-censorship-dont-say-gay-bill-1235200582/\u00a0\u2026— Steve Silberman (@Steve Silberman) 1646958386
It's been a bad week for Disney all around when it comes to the "Don't Say Gay" bill. After the company announced it would make a $5 million donation to the Human Rights Campaign in response to the controversy, the organization declined Disney's money in a statement lambasting their indifference to the LGBTQ community.
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