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Disney Employees Protest Florida's Anti-LGBTQ Legislation
Disney Employees Protest Florida's Anti-LGBTQ Legislation
A group of LGBTQ Disney employees and their supporters are staging walkouts this week and next in response to CEO Bob Chapek's initial refusal to denounce Florida's so-called Don't Say Gay legislation, which bans discussions of sexuality and gender identity in schools. Organizers say the company's recent actions and statements don't adequately address the threat to the safety of LGBTQ individuals.
The employees published an open letter on its website and via Twitter, along with a petition and a series of demands, including that The Walt Disney Co. stop all donations to politicians who backed the controversial measure. The group is also demanding the company implement a "LGBTQIA+ brand" and allocate spending to protect and expand representation of marginalized groups.
"You cannot fix this with educational seminars or token background characters," reads the open letter.
Disney didn't respond to a request for comment.
These actions are the latest example of rank-and-file employees publicly demonstrating opposition to the political stance of their company. Last year, Netflix employees staged walkouts over Dave Chappelle's comedy special due to content critics said was transphobic, and workers at Apple pushed back against the tech giant over privacy concerns, working conditions and what they characterized as a toxic culture. Last October, a group of Google and Amazon workers demanded the companies pull out of a contract called Project Nimbus, which sells surveillance technology to the Israeli military.
The walkouts are being organized by Disney Do Better, a group that includes employees across The Walt Disney Co., along with Lucasfilm, Pixar, Disney Television Animation and others. The brief protests began this week and are scheduled to take place daily, culminating in a full all-day action on Tuesday, March 22, according to the group's walkout schedule.
The Don't Say Gay bill, officially known as HB 1557 or the Parental Rights in Education bill, hasn't yet been signed into law, though Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to approve it. The bill piggybacks anti-trans legislation in Texas that's received a wave of national opposition, as it would criminalize parents for helping transgender children access gender-affirming health care.
Pixar Reportedly Restores Same-Sex Kiss to 'Lightyear' After Employees Protest
Pixar Reportedly Restores Same-Sex Kiss to 'Lightyear' After Employees Protest
Disney's Pixar has restored a same-sex kiss to its Buzz Lightyear origin story after employees protested the removal of gay storylines from Pixar films, a report Friday said. The kiss will appear in Lightyear when it hits screens June 17, according to Variety, which cited an unnamed source.
Though characters in the Toy Story spinoff include two women who are in a relationship, the studio cut a kiss between them from the film, Variety reported. The kiss was subsequently reinstated after employee protest amid the backlash against Disney leadership not immediately condemning the so-called Don't Say Gay bill in Florida. The legislation bans sexual orientation or gender identity from being discussed in classrooms.
Despite former Disney CEO Bob Iger condemning the bill back in February, current CEO Bob Chapek held back on fully condemning it until after it was passed by both houses of the Texas legislature. Instead of making a corporate statement against the bill prior to it passing the legislature, Chapek had said, "I believe the best way for our company to bring about lasting change is through the inspiring content we produce."
However, a letter sent by Pixar employees to Disney leadership last week reportedly said openly gay storylines and moments have been cut from Pixar films by Disney.
"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," the letter said. "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."
Pixar's 2020 film Onward featured the studio's first openly gay character, but the moment passed quickly and didn't feature her and her partner on screen together. Pixar also released a SparkShorts animated short called Out about a gay couple in 2020.
After backlash from within the company, Chapek wrote a letter to employees last week saying: "It is clear that this is not just an issue about a bill in Florida, but instead yet another challenge to basic human rights. You needed me to be a stronger ally in the fight for equal rights and I let you down. I am sorry." Chapek added that Disney would increase support for advocacy groups combating similar laws in other states.
Despite Chapek's eventual condemnation and apology, some LGBTQ Disney employees and allies staged walkouts this week, including at Pixar on Friday. The walkouts are scheduled to continue next week, culminating in a full walkout on Tuesday.
"The recent statements and lack of action by TWDC [The Walt Disney Company] leadership regarding the 'Don't Say Gay or Trans' bill have utterly failed to match the magnitude of the threat to LGBTQIA+ safety represented by this legislation," some Disney employees said.
According to Politico, Disney donated $50,000 to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who's expected to sign the bill into law, during the 2020 election cycle. The news outlet said Disney also gave $913,000 to the Republican Party of Florida, $586,000 to Republican Senate campaigns and $313,000 to the Florida Democratic Party. Disney has now ceased political donations in Florida as it reviews the activity in the wake of employee protest.
Disney didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Anti-Transgender Bills: What They Would Ban and Where They're Being Considered
Anti-Transgender Bills: What They Would Ban and Where They're Being Considered
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear vetoed a bill on Wednesday that would ban transgender girls in middle and high school from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity. The Republican-dominated state legislature is expected to override his veto when it reconvenes next week.
In his veto message, Beshear, a Democrat, said the Fairness in Women's Sports Act failed to address any issues not already covered by current school athletics guidelines.
"Transgender children deserve public officials' efforts to demonstrate that they are valued members of our communities through compassion, kindness and empathy, even if not understanding," Beshear said.
Kentucky is one of an estimated 32 states considering more than 130 anti-trans bills, according to the Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest LGBTQ advocacy group.
Here's what you need to know about the bills under consideration around the country, including what the measures entail and which states are considering them.
'Don't say gay' laws
On Mar. 28, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill prohibiting discussion of gender identity or sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade "or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students." The so-called "Don't Say Gay" act sparked fierce opposition, including a walkout by Disney employees who were angry that Bob Chapek, the company's chief executive officer, didn't initially take a public stance against the legislation.
At a signing ceremony, DeSantis, a Republican, said the Parental Rights in Education Act "will make sure that parents can send their kids to school to get an education, not an indoctrination."
About 60 Walt Disney Co. employees walked off the job in Glendale, California, to protest their company's reluctance to publicly fight Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law. Disney has now said it will work to get the law repealed.
Alisha Jucevic/Getty Images
Critics of the measure say its vagueness leaves educators vulnerable, given that it allows parents to sue school districts if they believe the act has been violated. A lawsuit challenging the law alleges it violates students' rights to free speech, equal protection and due process.
At least 15 other states are considering similar "Don't Say Gay" measures. Many are presented as parents' bills of rights or academic transparency measures.
Bills before Oklahoma legislators include one that would prohibit librarians and teachers from discussing gender identity and another that would allow families to sue teachers for $10,000 if they promote positions "in opposition to the closely held religious beliefs of students."
A bill in the Tennessee House would ban textbooks that "promote, normalize, support, or address" LGBT issues or "lifestyles," while legislators in Indiana have penned a bill requiring parents to give permission for any classroom discussion involving gender identity, sexual orientation, "transgenderism" or any aspect of human sexuality.
Transgender athlete bans
Roughly half of the anti-transgender legislation at the state level would prohibit trans youth from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
On Mar. 30, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed the "Save Women's Sports Act," which prohibits transgender girls from playing on female sports teams at the high school or college level.
At least 15 states are considering some form of ban on trans students in school sports.
Photo by Stephen Zenner/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
"When it comes to sports and athletics, girls should compete against girls [and] boys should compete against boys," Stitt said at the signing. "And let's be very clear: That's all this bill says."
Lawmakers in at least 15 states are considering some form of a transgender-athlete ban, according to the legislative tracker from Freedom for All Americans, which advocates for LGBTQ equality.
In addition to Oklahoma, they include Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin.
Frequently, the language is aimed specifically at transgender girls in sports, not trans boys: Last week, for example, the Kansas Senate passed a bill that requires "female student athletic teams only include members who are biologically female."
That measure now awaits a hearing in the House. Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, vetoed similar legislation last year but Republicans may have enough votes this time to override a veto.
It's not just Democrats balking at these bills, though: GOP Gov. Eric Holcomb of Indiana vetoed a trans-athlete ban on March 23, saying the legislature hadn't demonstrated there was a problem that required government intervention.
But three days later Utah lawmakers overrode Republican Gov. Spencer Cox's veto of the Student Eligibility in Scholastic Activities Act, which prohibits "a student of the male sex from competing against another school on a team designated for female students."
Idaho became the first state to pass a transgender athlete ban back in March 2020, followed by Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia, according to the Movement Advancement Project.
Most recently, a ban in Arizona, the Save Women's Sports Act was signed into law by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday.
Prohibition on transition-related care for minors
In April 2021, Arkansas became the first (and, to date, only) state to ban transition-related care for minors when the GOP-dominated legislature overrode Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson's veto of HB 1570, the Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act.
After the Texas Legislature failed to pass a transition-care ban in 2021, Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive action in February ordering the state's child welfare agency to treat gender-affirming medical care as felony child abuse. Members of the general public are empowered to report parents if it appears that their children are receiving such treatment.
Attendees at a rally at the Alabama State House opposing legislation that would make it a crime for doctors to give puberty blockers to transgender minors.
Julie Bennett/Getty Images
Kate Oakley, Human Rights Campaign's state legislative director and senior counsel, called the action "outrageously lawless."
"It's against science and appalling abuse of executive power," Oakley told CNET. Both Abbott's order and the Arkansas law are being challenged in court.
At least 14 other states are looking to restrict gender-affirming care for minors, some with criminal penalties for medical providers and parents.
Alabama's Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, which has cleared the state Senate and is now before the House, would make it a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $15,000 fine for a doctor to prescribe puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones to someone under 18.
"Adults are free to do what they want to do, but this is to protect children. I consider it abuse to give these long-term drugs to these children," the bill's sponsor, Rep. Wesley Allen, told the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month, The Hill reported.
Similar legislation is being considered in Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee, according to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law.
Age-appropriate care for transgender minors is considered medically appropriate by a majority of health care organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Pediatric Endocrine Society and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Other anti-transgender legislation
While sports bans and prohibition on medical care have been the most common and successful bills, there are also measures aiming at restricting access to restrooms and prohibiting changes to gender markers on birth certificates.
Arizona's HB 2161 would make it illegal for teachers or administrators to withhold information from a parent who is deemed relevant to their child's wellbeing.
Bills in 14 states would restrict minors' access to transition-related care, some with criminal penalties for doctors and parents.
Octavio Jones/Getty Images
It specifically cites details about a student's "purported gender identity or requested transition" if that identity "is incongruous with the student's biological sex." School districts can be sued for noncompliance, and teachers can lose their certification.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Steve Kaiser, says it's not the school's job to be a safe space for students.
"Their job is to teach my son reading, writing and math," Kaiser said, according to KJZZ. "Their job is not to console my son. That's to let me know so I can coach my son and console my son."
Human Rights Campaign's Oakley says bills like Kaiser's work to "taking out the support for trans youth one by one."
"Whether it's parents and doctors, teammates, teachers or guidance counselors," she added. "The goal is to contract and contract the support the kids have until they're all alone."
