A letter authored by employees of the animation studio Pixar, responding to The Walt Disney Company‘s refusal to take an overt stance against Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill, claims that Disney executives habitually cut depictions of affection in same-sex relationships from Pixar’s content.
The statement, which was shared in full by Variety, is titled “A Statement to Leadership from the LGBTQIA+ Employees of Pixar & Their Allies” and directly addresses remarks made by Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Chapek in a company-wide email, which reached Pixar as a division of Disney. In the email, Chapek explained that the company supported its LGBTQ+ employees but would not directly condemn the bill, saying, “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.”
In response, the “Statement to Leadership” provided a list of points, with the last one saying, “Finally, we come to the push for Content as the answer. 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.”
Although no specific instances are cited, the testimony goes on to say, “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,” and concludes that, “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.”
This letter is not the only backlash that Chapek’s handling of the controversy has received. After he announced that Disney would pledge $5 million to the Human Rights Coalition (HRC) and other LGBTQ+ charities, the HRC denied the donation until “meaningful action” was taken from the entertainment company. On Friday, Chapek sent out a memo apologizing to employees and announcing that the company would pause all political donations in the state of Florida.
Formally known as the Parental Rights in Education bill, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill would ban “classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels.” The bill was passed by Florida’s House of Representatives on Feb. 24
Source: Variety
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