After Disney’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Debacle, GLAAD CEO Warns Hollywood: ‘Don’t Wait Until You’re in the Hot Seat’

variety.com:

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterOn the heels of a rare public gaffe for The Walt Disney Company — regarding the media giant’s silence over Florida’s incendiary “Don’t Say Gay” law — the GLAAD Media Awards used its annual Los Angeles awards show to caution the rest of Hollywood about the perils of ignoring the LGBT community.“Don’t wait until you’re in the hot seat,” the media watchdog’s president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis bluntly told the crowd at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Saturday. “There’s no more time to sit on the sidelines.

We need Hollywood on the front lines, fighting for our rights and telling our stories.”As if GLAAD would let the Disney debacle go unchecked.

Ellis went further, saying she will call on Hollywood “to take meaningful action and will soon convene the biggest brands, agencies, studios, and streamers together with two goals: one, to commit to improving the quantity, quality, and diversity of LGBTQ images, especially in kids and family programming.

And, two, to speak out against anti-LGBTQ legislation in favor of rights like the Equality Act.” Before honorees including country crossover star Kacey Musgraves and Golden Globe winner Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Ellis celebrated progress made in recent months — like the Democrats pushing a renewed call to end bans on blood donations from gay and bisexual men; eradicating HIV stigma; and working with major social platforms like TikTok to protect queer youth.