The executives at Disney, the global media giant, are censoring LGBTQIA+ content in Pixar films, according to a letter from the LGBTQIA+ employees of Pixar, and their allies.
“Nearly every moment of overtly gay affection is cut at Disney’s behest, regardless of when there is protest from both the creative teams and executive leadership at Pixar,” the letter read.
The statement is a part of a wider reaction to a company-wide email sent to Disney’s employees by CEO Bob Chapek on Monday. The email, which was titled “Our Unwavering Commitment to the LGBTQ+ Community,” came after Disney drew criticism for previously donating money to all sponsors of the recently passed legislation in Florida known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, which limits discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.
Following the passing of the bill, the CEO publicly spoke about the company’s opposition to the bill during a shareholders meeting on Wednesday. Chapek further pledged $5 million to the Human Rights Campaign and other LGBTQIA+ rights organisations. However, the Human Rights Campaign announced that they would refuse the donation until the company takes “meaningful action” against Florida’s legislation.
Pixar employees noted in their letter that Disney did “not take a hard stance in support of the LGBTQIA+ community” throughout the shareholders meeting. Instead, there was an attempt “to placate both sides” and hateful messages shared during the question and answer portion of the meeting were not condemned, they added.
In his company-wide email, Chapek had stated that as a company, the “biggest impact” that they could potentially have was in creating a “more inclusive” space through the “inspiring content” that Disney produces.
Recommended
However, the employees of Pixar said his email “rang hollow” when Disney was forcing them to censor scenes of same-sex affection. “Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it. Beyond the ‘inspiring content’ that we aren’t even allowed to create, we require action,” their letter said.
The employees have called for Disney’s executives to “immediately withdraw all financial support from the legislators behind the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill” and to “fully denounce this legislation publicly” to make amends for their financial involvement.