NEWS: Internal Pixar Letter Criticizes Disney's Response to "Don't Say Gay" Bill

Over the past year, the Walt Disney Company has been involved in a few different controversies.

©The Walt Disney Company

Whether dealing with public outcry over price increases, or massive lawsuits with big Hollywood actors, the last few months have been a tumultuous time for the company. And lately, they’ve been dealing with a lot of public controversy surrounding Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

If you’re unfamiliar with the bill that recently passed in the Florida Senate, the basis of the new law would prohibit “classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity” from kindergarten through third grade “or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”

Disney was first drawn into the controversy when critics began looking into which companies supported the politicians proposing the bill. In fact, The Orlando Sentinel reported that The Walt Disney Company has provided donations “to every single sponsor and co-sponsor” of the bill in the past.

Pride Marshmallow Wand at Disneyland Resort

At first, Disney declined to release a statement on the matter, but CEO Bob Chapek later released a memo to Disney Cast Members, explaining the company’s decision to remain silent. In the statement, Chapek did not expressly condemn the bill but said that he “and the entire leadership team unequivocally stand in support of our LGBTQ+ employees, their families, and their communities.” Chapek said, “I do not want anyone to mistake a lack of a statement for a lack of support.”

After the release of Chapek’s memo, Deadline reports that there has since been a response letter signed by “The LGBTQIA+ employees of Pixar, and their allies.” This letter criticizes Chapek’s response to the controversy and accuses the company of “capitalizing on Pride” through merchandise, specifically The Rainbow Mickey Collection.

The letter from Pixar employees notes that Chapek’s memo “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. 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.” The letter goes on to say that “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.”

Finally, the letter accuses Disney of cutting overtly gay moments from Pixar films. It says: “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. 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. Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it.”

We’ll make sure to keep you updated if Disney releases a response to this letter from Pixar employees. Stay tuned to AllEars for more developments on this story.