Amid the fiery backlash to Disney's donating to politicians involved in funding Florida's controversial so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill, which bans discussion of gender and sexuality in elementary schools, Pixar reinstated a previously cut same-sex kiss to its upcoming Toy Story prequel Lightyear.
The move comes following an open letter from LGBTQ employees and allies at Pixar saying Disney executives routinely force the removal of depictions of same-sex affection, despite claiming to be committed to "inclusive" content.
The kiss in Lightyear, which occurs between two female characters, was among those depictions cited in the employees' letter.
A same-sex kiss has been restored in Pixar\u2019s upcoming film #Lightyear following staff uproar over Florida\u2019s \u2018Don\u2019t Say Gay\u2019 bill. https://bit.ly/36uYP7v\u00a0pic.twitter.com/5fbjavOxBy— Variety (@Variety) 1647626000
The Pixar employees' letter came in response to Disney CEO Bob Chapek's public refusal to pull Disney's funding to the Florida politicians behind the "Don't Say Gay" bill.
Critics of the bill have cautioned its vague wording and lack of definition of what constitutes discussion of gender and sexuality could leave even schoolchildren open to lawsuits should they mention their same-sex parents, for example.
Chapek justified his refusal to pull political funding by citing the company's commitment to LGBTQ "inclusive" entertainment, a characterization at odds with the company's practices, according to employees. They have even gone so far as to stage walk-outs in response.
The changes to Lightyear suggest those moves could be working at turning the tide behind the scenes in Disney's leadership.
The film, which features Chris Evans as the titular character and actress Uzo Aduba as a character named Hawthorne, who is in a same-sex relationship, will be the first Pixar film released in theaters since 2019.
The reinstatement of a kiss between Hawthorne and her same-sex partner is a leap forward for Pixar, which has had its films banned in parts of the world for simply mentioning same-sex relationships. It is unclear whether Lightyear's same-sex kiss will be edited out for those foreign markets, as is common practice, however.
On Twitter, some applauded the move, but many were unimpressed with what seemed like a token effort, especially since the damage from the Florida legislation has already been done.
Guys don\u2019t worry Disney contributed to a bill that makes lgbtq education illegal but we\u2019ll get to see two background characters in the buzz lightyear movie kiss so all is forgivenhttps://twitter.com/variety/status/1504878632975540224\u00a0\u2026— alli@why he ourple\ud83e\udd28 (@alli@why he ourple\ud83e\udd28) 1647641069
So is this just a new temp for them to save face over the fact that Disney threw money at a bill that's against gay rights?\n\nSeriously that's an actual question I'm not entirely sure of the full relationship between Pixar and Disney I thought they were pretty much one in the same— (L.a.W)\ud83d\udd1e (@(L.a.W)\ud83d\udd1e) 1647632157
\u201cSAME SEX KISS PUT BACK IN BUZZ LIGHTYEAR MOVIE - DISNEY DEMANDS COOKIE\u201d— Brian Bear (@Brian Bear) 1647644121
Always remember that they wouldn't have if Pixar's staff hadn't called out Disney for automatically censoring LGBTQ+ content.\n\nThey didn't do it because they care about us, they did it to avoid losing money.https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1504878632975540224\u00a0\u2026— Capitaine Byakko (@Capitaine Byakko) 1647937190
The fact that it was cut says so much about the company. In 2022 we are still doing this wow— BluePearl (@BluePearl) 1647647528
Wow, homophobia has ended, thank you for the blink and I missed it kiss\n\nI'm saved from hate\n\nNow about the over seas release missing it every single time— Archon.exe \uea00\ud83e\uddc0 (@Archon.exe \uea00\ud83e\uddc0) 1647648506
And of course this being Twitter, there was also plenty of jokes.
A same sex kiss in the background isn\u2019t cutting it anymore. Make Buzz Lightyear attend a Charli XCX concert and do poppershttps://twitter.com/Variety/status/1504878632975540224\u00a0\u2026— Brent Bailey (@Brent Bailey) 1647626459
cant believe theyre gonna let buzz lightyear open mouth tongue kiss woody— Mari Costa (@Mari Costa) 1647693099
If you really want to fix things I need to see Woody giving Buzz a rimjobhttps://twitter.com/Variety/status/1504878632975540224\u00a0\u2026— Lubbock, Strasbourg (@Lubbock, Strasbourg) 1647646522
Lightyear releases June 17.