Culture
Posted by Charlie Kirk Staff - 3.30.22

Executive Producer For Disney Admits That She 'Adds Queerness' To Programming

Executive Producer For Disney Admits That She 'Adds Queerness' To Programming

Culture
Posted by Charlie Kirk Staff - 3.30.22

A Disney executive producer has admitted to having a “not-at-all-secret gay agenda” for children’s programming.

It happened during a Disney staff meeting after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 1557, which has been dubbed by progressives as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which prohibits the teaching of sexual orientation to kids between pre-K and third grade, into law, The New York Post reported.

“In my little pocket of Proud Family Disney TVA, the showrunners were super welcoming . . . to my not-at-all-secret gay agenda,” executive producer for Disney Television Animation Latoya Raveneau said in a leaked video obtained by journalist Christopher Rufo. “Maybe it was that way in the past, but I guess something must have happened . . . and then like all that momentum that I felt, that sense of ‘I don’t have to be afraid to have these two characters kiss in the background.’”

“I was just, wherever I could, adding queerness,” she said“No one would stop me, and no one was trying to stop me.”

“I love Disney’s content. I grew up watching all of the classics. They have been a huge informative part of my life, but at the same time, I worked at small studios most of my career, and I’d heard whispers. I’d heard things like, ‘They won’t let you show this in a Disney show.’ So I was a little sus[picious] when I started, but then my experience was bafflingly the opposite of what I had heard,” the executive producer said.

The leak of Raveneau’s comments came as Karey Burke, president of Disney’s General Entertainment Content, vowed to drastically increase inclusivity in its productions, promising that at least 50 percent of its characters will be LGBTQ or racial minorities by the end of the year.

Burke made the pledge in a company-wide Zoom call Monday that was later posted to Twitter.

The Disney execs made their comments after Florida Gov. DeSantis on Monday signed the Parental Rights in Education bill, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by critics.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek slammed the legislation after weeks of staying silent, and attempted to lobby DeSantis to kill it. A group of California Disney employees staged a walkout last week to protest the measure, wearing rainbow colors, holding signs with pro-LGBTQ slogans, and shouting, “Say Gay,” as they marched down the street.

“Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law,” Disney said on its Twitter page on Monday.

“Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that,” the company said.

“We are dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ members of the Disney family, as well as the LGBTQ+ community in Florida and across the country,” it said.

But Gov. DeSantis hit back at the woke company, accusing it of crossing the line by getting involved in state politics.

“For Disney to come out and put a statement and say that the bill should have never passed and they are going to actively work to repeal it — I think, one, was fundamentally dishonest. But two, I think that crossed the line,” the governor said.

“This state is governed by the interests of the people of the state of Florida. It is not based on the demands of California corporate executives. They do not run this state. They do not control this state,” he said.

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