Disney is branded hypocritical for opposing Florida’s so-called Don’t Say Gay bill as it emerges movie giant cut LGBT content from its movies to please homophobic censors in Russia and the Middle East

• Disney is being criticized for its opposition to the Don’t Say Gay bill
• Critics allege the movie giant has routinely suppressed LGBT content in its films to appease homophobic censors in Russia and the Middle East
• While the films are released in full in the US, scenes with gay tones are often adapted or removed altogether in certain foreign markets
• Last month LGBT employees called on Disney to stop ‘actively censoring’ gay tones in its feature films

Disney has been branded hypocritical for publicly condemning Florida’s so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill despite voluntarily cutting ‘overtly gay affection’ from its films to appease homophobic foreign governments.

DailyMail.com can reveal at least four recent feature films were altered to appease the views of leadership in China, Russia and the Middle East.

Lightyear, an upcoming Pixar film depicting the origin story of Toy Story character Buzz Lightyear, was under fire after studio executives chose to cut a same-sex kissing scene from the movie.

The film – although focused around the character of Buzz Lightyear, who is voiced by Captain America actor Chris Evans – reportedly features a female character, Hawthorne, who is in a relationship with another woman.

Sources close to the production told Variety that while Hawthorne’s relationship was never questioned, studio execs opted to axe the kiss in an apparent move to avoid controversy.

Disney initially axed a same-sex kiss from its upcoming film Lightyear, but production insiders allege the kiss was reinstated after Pixar employees called on the entertainment company to take action against Florida HB 1557. A scene from Lightyear is pictured

However, production insiders allege the kiss was reinstated after Disney employees called on the entertainment company to take action against HB 1557. 

‘Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are barred from creating it,’ the Pixar employees penned in their March 9 letter. ‘Beyond the “inspiring content” we are allowed to create, we demand action.’ 

Insiders allege the decision to keep the kiss could be a turning point for Pixar, which has only featured a handful of ‘unambiguous LGBTQ characters’ in its 27-year history.

But, it remains unknown if Disney will opt to censor the scene for its international markets after its release this upcoming June. 

The company has previously kept moments of LGBT affection in its American films, but removed or changed them in its more conservative markets.

Pixar film Onward, which features a lesbian character named Officer Spector (pictured), was censored in Russia to change the character from having a ‘girlfriend’ to a ‘partner’

Pixar released Onward, an animated feature that tells the tale of two elf brothers who embark on a magical quest to spend time with their late father, in February 2020.

The film included a secondary character, Officer Spector, a cyclops cop for the city of New Mushroomton, who was in a lesbian relationship. 

Officer Spector, voiced by Lena Waithe, mentions her relationship during a parenting discussion with another secondary character: ‘It’s not easy being a new parent – my girlfriend’s daughter got me pulling my hair out, okay?’

The line sparked outrage is several eastern countries, resulting in a ban of its release in Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Deadline reported.

Russia, which has a history of censoring gay content, changed the word ‘girlfriend’ to ‘partner’ in the parenting scene. Local advertisements for the film also avoided mentioning Officer’s Spector’s gender. 

Meanwhile, members of the LGBT community have heralded Officer Spector as Disney’s first openly gay character. 

In Marvel’s Eternals, a same-sex kiss shared by Phastos and his husband, Ben Stoss, was edited out in the Arab Emirates, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Ethiopia, Palestine, Syria and Turkey. The kiss is pictured above

The Marvel franchise, which is owned by Disney, included a same-sex kiss in Eternals, a November 2021 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics race of the same name.

The character of Phastos, the inventor of the community of genetically-engineered Eternals, is married to a man named Ben Stoss. Together the pair raise a son, Jack.

In one scene, Phastos is seen kissing Ben. But, according to Out.com, that moment was edited out for audiences in the Arab Emirates, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Ethiopia, Palestine, Syria and Turkey.

The countries did, however, keep other scenes in which Phastos interacts with his husband and son. It is unclear if the familial relations between the characters were defined.

Out.com notes that in addition to the same-sex kiss, all scenes of physical intimacy, including those depicting heterosexual relationships, were also removed from the film, which is standard practice in those countries. 

Another Marvel film, Avengers: Endgame, was also censored in Russia. Dialogue from an openly gay character (not pictured) was changed to remove ‘romantic overtones’. A scene from the 2019 blockbuster is shown above

Another Marvel film, Avengers: Endgame, which was released in 2019 and grossed nearly $3billion worldwide, was also censored abroad.

Early on in the film, there is a brief scene in which a gay character attends a support group meeting with Captain America.

‘So, I went on a date the other day. First time in five years,’ the character said, before adding later: ‘He cried as they were serving the salad. But I’m seeing him again tomorrow.’

It was the first time an openly gay character appeared in a Marvel film. 

According to Russian newspaper TJournal, the nation’s dubbed version of Endgame changed the dialogue to remove ‘romantic overtones’. 

In the Russian version, the charcater says: ‘I was recently at dinner. First time in five years. […] He cried over a plate of salad. […] Tomorrow I’m meeting him again.’

The newspaper also claimed Disney may have changed dialogue in Marvel’s 2018 film Avengers: Infinity War to avoid additional conflict with the Russian government, however it is unclear what the nature of the dialogue was.

HB 1557 was introduced by two Republican members of the Florida Legislature – Representative Joe Harding and Senator Dennis Baxley.

They say the bill’s aim is to ’empower parents’ in their children’s education, and make teachers recognize the distinction between ‘instruction’ and ‘discussion.’

‘What we’re prohibiting is instructing them in a specific direction,’ Baxley said about how teachers lead students in a classroom. 

‘Students can talk about whatever they want to bring up, but sometimes the right answer is, ”You really ought to talk to your parents about that.”’

The bill applies to children in kindergarten through third grade.

It states that ‘classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur.’

It also requires districts to ‘adopt procedures for notifying a student’s parent if there is a change in the student’s services or monitoring related to the student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being,’ something LGBTQ advocates argue could lead to students being outed to their parents without the student’s knowledge or consent.

It was passed on March 8 in a 22-17 vote. The state House had approved the bill late last month. DeSantis signed it into law on March 28 and it will come into effect on July 1.

Similarly, Pixar was accused of downplaying gay tones in its 2021 film Luca, which details the friendship of two young sea monsters who appear human when on land.

The monsters, Luca and Alberto, develop a ‘profound friendship’ that many interpreted as a ‘coming out allegory’.

The film’s director told The Wrap the studio had ‘talked about’ the monsters’ relationship being romantic, but also noted officials ‘didn’t talk about it as much’ because the film focuses ‘on friendship’ and is ‘pre-romance.’

‘Some people seem to get mad that I’m not saying yes or no, but I feel like, well, this is a movie about being open to any difference,’ director Enrico Casarosa added. 

Disney has reportedly refused to confirm if the pair were in a gay romance.

The films bosses are also accused of having toyed with the idea of making character Giulia, a human girl who befriends Luca and Alberto, a lesbian but decided against it because the creative team was ‘stymied by how to do it without also creating a girlfriend for the character.’

‘We very often came up against the question of, “How do we do this without giving them a love interest?”‘ a production source told Variety. ‘That comes up very often at Pixar.’

Disney has also been accused of cutting the majority of inclusive scenes in the 2022 Pixar film Turning Red, which was a coming of age story about puberty.

Pixar employees allege there was misrepresentation in the animated film and that it was riddled with ‘ambiguous possibly gay hinting,’ according to InsideTheMagic.

Several employees have called on the studio to ‘release the Gay Cut’ of the film.

It is unclear what specifically the alleged gay scenes depicted, however critics have posted stills to social media of scenes in which two female characters have their faces just inches apart.

Disney came out against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, whose official title is the Parental Rights in Education Bill, last month after facing immense pressure from staff members.

The bill prohibits public school instruction on gender and sexuality between kindergarten and third grade.

Supporters say the bill, which was signed into law in March, stops teachers from pushing inappropriate content on children, which they believe students may be too young to understand.

Opponents say the bill is homophobic, and that the vagueness of its wording could see a teacher reported to authorities for something as minor as mentioning their same-sex partner in class.

Disney initially stayed quiet on the bill.

But the firm – which has long had a good track record on supporting its LGBT staff – is said to have waded into the issue after being pressured by woke in-house diversity factions now said to exert growing influence over bosses there.

Disney came out against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, whose official title is the Parental Rights in Education Bill, last month after being pressured by woke in-house diversity factions

The controversial bill prohibits public school instruction on gender and sexuality between kindergarten and third grade

CEO Bob Chapek later spoke out after walkouts by a small number of Disney staffers – and angered DeSantis by openly suggesting that his firm would apply pressure on lawmakers.

After blasting the bill, he said: ‘As I wrote to our employees earlier this week, we are committed to supporting community organizations like these so they are equipped to take on these fights.

‘Meanwhile, we are also reassessing our approach to advocacy, including political giving in Florida and beyond.’

The controversy has hit Disney’s share price hard too, as parents who back the bill or who were angered at the firm’s sudden outspoken stance vowed to boycott it.

Stocks have tanked by around a third in recent weeks, and now sit at just $118.27 per share.

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