This matter is not something that can wait until Reimagine Tomorrow in April, or Pride Month in June. Many hateful groups are attempting to eradicate us through legislation – we need you to stand with us entirely, not in empty words. Stand against the transphobic legislation in Texas, Iowa, Utah, Kansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, and Alabama. Stand against this bill in Florida and against the similar bills in South Carolina, Arizona, Virginia, and Tennessee. If Disney is true in its values, it will take a decisive public stand against the discriminatory legislation occurring in Florida and offer tangible support for the LGBTQIA+ communities affected by bigoted legislation sweeping the country. This is not what it means to 'unequivocally stand in support of our LGBTQ+ employees, their families, and their communities.'ĭisney taking a stand by honoring their company values has changed the course of legislation in the past. Throughout the shareholder meeting, Disney did not take a hard stance in support of the LGBTQIA+ community, they instead attempted to placate 'both sides' – and did not condemn hateful messages shared during the question and answer portion of the meeting. While signing on to donate to the HRC is a step in the correct direction, the shareholder meeting on Wednesday made it clear that this is not enough. We are calling on Disney leadership to immediately withdraw all financial support from the legislators behind the 'Don't Say Gay' bill, to fully denounce this legislation publicly, and to make amends for their financial involvement. Beyond the 'inspiring content' that we aren't even allowed to create, we require action. Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it.
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.
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. It has been proven that Disney's corporate statements can and do make a difference.įinally, we come to the push for Content as the answer. By taking a stand, Disney directly affected the legislative outcome in Georgia. In 2016, Disney told the state of Georgia: 'We will plan to take our business elsewhere should any legislation allowing discriminatory practices be signed into state law' in response to the controversial Religious Liberty bill. Eight days after Russia invaded Ukraine, Disney paused the release of theatrical films in Russia and announced 'We will make future business decisions based on the evolving situation.' Following the siege on the capital in 2021, Disney stopped all political donations to members of Congress who had objected to the presidential election results. However, the very email making this claim opened with a corporate statement regarding the ongoing situation in Ukraine.
The second claim stated that 'corporate statements do very little to change outcomes or minds'. To this end, it feels terrible to be a part of a company that makes money from Pride merch when it chooses to 'step back' in times of our greatest need, when our rights are at risk. Additionally, Disney began capitalizing on Pride in 2018 with The Rainbow Mickey Collection, (while de-emphasizing the terms like LGBTQ+ and not even featuring explicitly LGBTQIA+ pieces such as Pride flag pins until 2021). Disney has a history of shutting down fan-created Pride events in the parks, even removing same-sex couples for dancing together in the 1980's. It began with the claim that Disney has a long history of supporting the LGBT community, but Disney Parks did not officially host Pride until 2019, in Paris alone. Monday's email, 'Our Unwavering Commitment to the LGBTQ+ Community', rang hollow. In regards to Disney's financial involvement with legislators behind the 'Don't Say Gay' bill, we hoped that our company would show up for us. We are writing because we are disappointed, hurt, afraid, and angry.