Disney Employees Slam Bob Chapek’s Memo on ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill: ‘Silence Is Unacceptable’

After coming under fire for its handling of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, Pixar is restoring a cut scene from its upcoming film “Lightyear”.

Pixar’s forthcoming Toy Story prequel Lightyear has put a same-sex kiss back following an internal backlash to Disney’s handling of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment WriterOn March 9, LGBTQ employees and allies at Pixar Animation Studios sent a joint statement to Walt Disney Company leadership claiming that Disney executives had actively censored “overtly gay affection” in its feature films.

Gabrielle Union did not hold back when asked about Disney's 'slow response' to Florida's so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill, which has drawn wide criticism, while speaking toVariety at the premiere of her Cheaper by the Dozen remake on Wednesday.The 49-year-old star came out swinging against the company, saying the 'damage is done now' and encouraged corporations and those in 'positions of power' to take a 'hard stance' against the bill.Disney workers opposing the bill claimed CEO Bob Chapek failed to act quickly to advocate against the bill as he admitted he 'missed the mark' and have planned week long walkouts in protest. Speaking out:Gabrielle Union did not hold back when asked about Disney's 'slow response' to Florida's so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill, which has drawn wide criticism, while speaking to Variety at the premiere of her Cheaper by the Dozen remake on Wednesday'Somebody asked me, 'Are you disappointed?' I'm disappointed when my order isn't right at In-N-Out.

Gabrielle Union has hit out at the Walt Disney Company over its decision to take a soft stance regarding the “Don’t Say Gay” bill banning Florida teachers in classes up to third grade from talking about LGBTQIA+ issues with their students.

Gabrielle Union has levied criticism towards the Walt Disney Company over its widely derided decision to take a soft stance regarding new anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation in Florida.The actress, who stars alongside Zach Braff in the studio’s upcoming Disney Plus reimagining of “Cheaper by the Dozen,” voiced her dismay regarding the situation on the red carpet for the streaming release.“Somebody asked me, ‘Are you disappointed?’ I’m disappointed when my order isn’t right at In-N-Out. I don’t even think that’s a word that you could use for something like this, where children’s lives are literally hanging in the balance,” Union told Variety at the premiere.

Marvel Studios have added their voice to the debate surrounding the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill in the US, saying the company “strongly denounces” any legislation that affects the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.The Republican-led bill, formally known as Parental Rights in Education, bans discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten to third grade classes (aged 8-9). It argued that conversations around identity should be handled by parents, not schools.A statement shared by Marvel Studios on social media read: “We strongly denounce any and ALL legislation that infringes on the basic human rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.

As The Walt Disney Company employees planned walkouts today over “the lack of compassion and advocacy” from the company in regard to its LGTBQIA+ workers and their rights, especially where Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill is concerned, Disney-owned Marvel Studios posted a statement to Twitter strongly denouncing “any and ALL legislation that infringes on the basic human rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.”

J. Kim Murphy Marvel Studios released a statement denouncing anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation on Tuesday afternoon.

Angelique Jackson A group of Disney employees have planned a week of in-person and virtual walkouts in response to the company and CEO Bob Chapek’s handling of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Bill.On Monday afternoon, the Twitter account called Disney Walkout posted a message explaining that, “The LGBTQIA+ workers and allies at The Walt Disney Company are standing in solidarity together over the coming weeks.”The post then linked to an open letter written in partnership with members of the LGBTQ community across the Walt Disney Company (including Disney Corporate, Disney Television Animation, Lucasfilm, Pixar, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, Disney Streaming, Enterprise Finance, Enterprise Technology/Global Information Security and Bento Box). “The recent statements by The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) leadership regarding the Florida legislature’s recent ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill have utterly failed to match the magnitude of the threat to LGBTQIA+ safety represented by this legislation,” organizers wrote.

“When we donate money to different political candidates, we have no idea how they’re going to vote going forward into the future,” said Disney CEO Bob Chapek at a shareholders meeting this past week.

UPDATE:  Human Rights Campaign Interim President Joni Madison said last night that she has spoken to Disney CEO Bob Chapek, but did not reveal specifics about their conversation.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek has apologised to employees for his silence over Florida’s controversial ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill which was passed earlier this week.The Republican-led bill, formally known as Parental Rights in Education, bans discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten to third grade classes (aged 8-9). It argued that conversations around identity should be handled by parents, not schools.The White House has called the legislation “hateful” and something which targets “vulnerable students”.Disney has been criticised for not speaking out against the bill.

It’s been a rough first two years for Bob Chapek in Disney’s top job.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek is facing a major test of his leadership, after the company’s botched response to an anti-gay bill in Florida sparked a staff revolt among LGBTQ employees and their supporters.Chapek apologized to the staff on Friday, saying he should have been “a stronger ally.” But for some employees, who found the company’s silence on the bill profoundly alarming, the statement came too late.“This is a CYA [cover your ass] for Chapek — this is a weak statement,” one Disney staffer told Variety. “We should have gotten this apology on March 1, not weeks after — and after this bill was passed in Florida.”For Chapek, the apology capped a full week of attempted damage control.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek is in full damage control mode today as the blast radius from the company’s bungled response to Florida’s “discriminatory ‘Don’t Say Gay’ legislation threatens his newly minted reign at the House of Mouse.

first reported on Twitter by journalist Judd Legum of the newsletter Popular Information, strikes back against Chapek’s comments — in both a company-wide memo sent to Disney employees and subsequent remarks at the company’s annual shareholder meeting — purporting to stand with the company’s LGBTQ employees and the LGBTQ community more broadly.In the memo, issued earlier this week, Chapek defended the company’s decision not to issue a statement on the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill — a piece of “parental rights” legislation that seeks to keep parents informed of any changes in the way schools deal with their children, particularly with respect to affirming a child’s gender identity or sexual orientation without the parents’ knowledge.The bill explicitly bans teacher- or school-led discussions of LGBTQ-related topics up to the third grade, and requires that any conversations in older grades be age-appropriate and “developmentally appropriate.” But critics say that, in practice, given the pressure on teachers and the lack of support from administrators seeking to appease overly-sensitive or litigious parents, schools — and individual teachers — will preemptively censor student speech or LGBTQ-related content, even at the middle and high school levels. Chapek’s memo was issued in response to demonstrations by LGBTQ groups outside of Disney theme parks in Florida and California, as well as simmering discontent among employees, which stemmed not only from what critics characterized as a tepid response to the bill, but from an Orlando Sentinel report that Disney donated to every politician who sponsored and co-sponsored the legislation.In the internal memo, Chapek said the company “unequivocally” stands in support of its LGBTQ

Disney executives have censored gay affection in its films.In an open letter attributed to LGBTQIA+ animators and allies at the studio (obtained by Variety), it reads: “We 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.”The letter is in response to Disney’s messaging around the recently passed legislation in Florida known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which blocks the discussion of LGBT+ identities in schools.Disney’s soft reaction to the legislation attracted widespread criticism.

The Human Rights Campaign is not taking money from Disney anymore.

As controversy continued to swirl around Disney’s stance on Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, the Hulk himself today tweeted praise for Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s statement in support of the LGBTQ+ community.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek, amid criticism for declining to speak out against the Florida “Don’t Say Gay” bill, came out against the legislation on Wednesday, insisting the media conglomerate has been “opposed to the bill from the outset” and noted he would engage with Gov. Ron DeSantis on the legislation.