Employees at Pixar Animation Studios sent a letter critical of leadership’s alleged censorship of “overtly gay” content intended for children, that reportedly resulted in getting a “same-sex kiss” restored in the studio’s next feature film.
After critics misnamed Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, Pixar employees sent a letter to executives at the Walt Disney Company accusing them of censoring gay content in children’s movies, but did not call for action to be taken on any film in particular, reported Variety.
A same-sex kiss has been restored in Pixar’s upcoming film #Lightyear following staff uproar over Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. https://t.co/vqytNeG9Tv pic.twitter.com/5fbjavOxBy
— Variety (@Variety) March 18, 2022
However, the letter is said to have been a deciding factor in production’s decision to add back the same-sex kiss in the latest Pixar movie, “Lightyear,” according to a source speaking with the outlet.
Pixar’s next feature film is set to tell the backstory of the “Toy Story” character Buzz Lightyear. It also features Hawthorne, a leading female character in a relationship with another woman voiced by actress Uzo Aduba, according to Variety.
The source told the outlet that production restored a same-sex kiss in the movie after employees sent the Mar. 9 letter in protest to Disney’s initial silence on the Florida parental rights bill. (RELATED: ‘Operation March Sadness 2’: Disney Employees Arrested In Human Trafficking Sting)
Pixar had initially removed a kiss between Hawthorne and the other woman, according to Variety. However, due to the recent protest against Disney’s handling of both LGBTQ characters and the current Florida parental rights bill, it has reportedly been restored, the source told the outlet.
Former Pixar employees said for years they tried but failed to get what they believe is meaningful representation of LGBTQ characters and themes in movies intended for children, according to Variety.
“We very often came up against the question of, ‘How do we do this without giving them a love interest?'” a source told the outlet. “That comes up very often at Pixar.”
Americans in large part support the Florida parental rights bill critics named the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, according to a recent poll. A majority of people surveyed (51%) said they support the Florida bill, which bans the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through 3rd grade, while 35% are opposed to the ban, poll results show.
