Several Disney talents have come out to support the company’s LGBT + employees, who are currently protesting against their employer’s response to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Act, officially called the Parental Rights in Education Bill, restricts schools from teaching students about sexual orientation and gender issues. If teachers refuse to recognize the new rules, they will face lawsuits.
Reports from The independent and other news organizations revealed that Disney donated tens of thousands of dollars to Republican lawmakers and officials who supported the bill, prompting Disney CEO Bob Chapek to announce that the company would “pause” all political donations in the state.
But according to a statement from protesting workers, Chapek’s response, in which he apologized for not being “a stronger ally in the fight for equal rights”, did not “match the scale of the threat to LGBTQIA + security represented by this legislation”.
Disney – the state’s largest private employer and a political heavyweight in the state – has now faced weeks of pressure from company staff and LGBT + advocates urging management to harness the company’s massive influence to publicly lobby against the bill.
Here is what they have said about the discriminatory bill:
Hulken star Mark Ruffalo Tuesday (March 22) tweeted: “Stand proud and in solidarity with our LBGTQIA + family! #SigGay#DisneyWalkout ”
Daily layoffs at Disney’s offices this month culminated in an entire week-long protest on Tuesday, in which company employees demanded that Disney indefinitely stop all political donations to government officials who set up or helped implement the measure.
oscar isaacwho will make his Marvel superhero debut Knights of the Moon later in the month criticized the “ridiculous law” in a statement to Variety.
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“It’s insane. It’s insane. And I hope Disney as a company comes out as strongly as possible against this idea. It’s amazing that it exists in this country at all,” said the 43-year-old Oscar nominee.
Disney child actor and star in the upcoming Ravn’s home, Raven-Symone on Tuesday announced that the cast in the series will “go out” to support his “LGBTQ + family and all those who will be harmed by the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill”.
“Education that reflects the truth and the world we live in is something we must fight for,” she said on Instagram.
American comedian Larry Wilmore Tuesday tweeted: “We take time today on the set to stand in solidarity with the LGBTQIA + staff at Disney. We are all in this together !!”
Wilmore serves as the executive producer of Disney-led Onyx Collective’s new legal drama Reasoned doubtwith Washington.
In her highly shared online statement, Washington said she does not “approve of Disney’s actions or inaction.”
“I wholeheartedly support the LGBTQIA + staff and stand with them in this journey today,” Washington said, adding, “Please know that you matter. Your rights matter. Your votes matter. I urge you all to help. their voices to ring louder today. ”
Charm animator Rebecca Perez posted a photo of Disney’s Animation Studio employees participating in the company-wide walkout on Twitter in support of “our colleagues in Florida and the LGBTQIA + community.”
Gabrielle Unionplaying opposite Zach Braff in a remake of Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt family comedy Cheaper by the dozenwas asked about the bill while attending the film’s premiere on Wednesday (March 16).
She said, “Someone asked me, ‘Are you disappointed?’ “I’m disappointed when my order is not right at In-N-Out. I do not even think it’s a word you can use for something like this where children’s lives literally hang in the balance.”
Late night show host, comedian and voice from Lions King character Zazu, John Oliver has previously called Disney a “moral bankruptcy” for donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican senators backing the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
“Marginalized creators have made billions of dollars for Disney,” Oliver said on March 13. “Should it now embarrass them that it took them until this week to realize that they should not take that money and use it to actively undermine the interests of these creators? Who should say? I must tell you that. I am. I’m Zazu, remember? ”
“And even though I haven’t been invited back to prequel yet, I have a pretty good feeling about it after tonight.”
Other Disney actors like Mark Hamill have, without mentioning the company, supported the protests against the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Disney-owned companies such as streaming services Disney + and Hulu, sports channel ESPN and Marvel Studios have publicly condemned “Don’t Say Gay” on social media.