Chris Evans Is ‘Frustrated’ LGBT Content in ‘Lightyear’ Is So Controversial: I Want Representation to ‘Be the Norm’

usmagazine.com:

No big deal. Chris Evans wishes that the decision to include LGBTQ+ characters in his new film, Lightyear, didn’t cause so much controversy.“It’s nice, and it’s wonderful, it makes me happy [to have such inclusion],” the Avengers star, 41, told Variety on Monday, June 13, when asked about Pixar’s decision to reinstate a same-sex kiss between two characters. “[But] it’s tough to not be a little frustrated that it even has to be a topic of discussion.

That it is this kind of ‘news.'”In the animated film, which tells the origin story of Buzz Lightyear, the titular spaceman gets thrown into the future and learns about what happened to his partner, Alisha (Uzo Aduba), in the time that he was gone.

The emotional montage includes an insight into Alisha’s life and she is seen sharing a kiss with her wife.“The goal is that we can get to a point where it is the norm, and that this doesn’t have to be some uncharted waters, that eventually this is just the way it is,” Evans said of including LGBTQ+ characters and content in animated films. “That representation across the board is how we make films.”He continued: “Look, it’s an honor to be a part of something that is taking those steps, but the goal is to look back on this time and just be shocked that it took us this long to get there.”Lightyear’s same-sex kiss previously made headlines in March when LGBTQ employees and allies at Pixar Animation Studios sent a joint statement to Disney executives, claiming that the studio had censored “overtly gay affection” in its feature films.

The allegation, which was made as part of a staff-wide protest over the company’s tepid response to Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill, referred to the sweet moments between Alisha and her wife,