Almost as soon as Pride Month began, corporations took to social media with zest to proclaim their support for the LGBT community, and Disney was no exception. However, many social media activists took this opportunity to call out Disney for its past refusal to support LGBT representation in their productions.
Perhaps the most searing condemnation came from Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch, who blasted Disney for celebrating Pride Month in America while censoring gay content in countries with anti-LGBTQ+ laws like China and Russia. Hirsch made several efforts to include LGBTQ+ characters in Gravity Falls, only to be blocked at every turn by Disney.
Disney privately: Cut the gay scene! We might lose precious pennies from Russia & China!\n\nDisney publicly: Honk honk we put rainbow bumper sticker on Lightning McQueen today CONSUME OUR PRODUCTS TEENShttps://twitter.com/Disney/status/1399833908691320833\u00a0\u2026— Alex Hirsch (@Alex Hirsch) 1622649389
This is not the first time Disney has done this: In the past, they notoriously removed a same-sex kiss scene from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in countries that discriminated against gay people, while in Russia they released versions of Avengers: Endgame and Onward that excised any LGBT content. Other Twitter users also pointed out that Disney cancelled production of Nimona, which would have been its first animated film to feature two male leads kissing.
These criticisms come as several corporations are coming under fire for funding anti-trans politicians while symbolically supporting Pride Month on social media. As Pride Month becomes increasingly ingrained into American society, the gay community is pushing back against companies that exploit it as a public relations opportunity but refuse to support LGBTQ+ people in a meaningful way.
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