By Sabina Graves
Florida’s controversial anti-LGBTQ “Don’t Say Gay” invoice has handed the state senate, heading to the desk of governor Ron DeSantis, all however guaranteeing its entry into state regulation—and one of many state’s greatest companies, the Walt Disney Company, has largely chosen to remain silent.
Instead of turning its consideration towards supporting LGBTQ youth and their households, Disney centered its efforts on a unique scenario making headlines in Florida: its newest luxury vacation venture aboard the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser. Yesterday, nevertheless, Disney CEO Bob Chapek lastly addressed the difficulty. Sort of.
In Chapek’s refusal to outright denounce the Florida invoice as a part of an electronic mail despatched to Disney employees, a specific a part of his assertion (you’ll be able to learn the total memo at the Hollywood Reporter) has made waves: his perception that Disney is doing what it could possibly to advertise tolerance and equality by its content material. “Encanto, Black Panther, Pose, Reservation Dogs, Coco, Soul, Modern Family, Shang-Chi, Summer of Soul, [and] Love, Victor,” the assertion listed as influential, diverse works from the corporate. “These and all of our diverse stories are our corporate statements—and they are more powerful than any tweet or lobbying effort.” But for all its dancing across the energy of content material moderately than Disney’s precise huge capital energy, energy that it has used to financially support backers of the “Don’t Say Gay” invoice, most likely probably the most insulting factor about Chapek’s stance is his failure to think about the impression one legendary homosexual determine particularly has had on Disney: Howard Ashman, who, just like the legions of queer staff at Disney since his time, is left ignored by Chapek’s cowardice.