UPDATE: Disney CEO makes $5M pledge to LGBTQ orgs, Human Rights Campaign rejects money

UPDATE, 3/9/22: After further backlash over Disney’s lackluster response to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, CEO Bob Chapek announced the company would donate $5 million to LGBTQ+ organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign. Chapek also promised he would be sitting with Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to discuss the “concerns” over the bill.

“The governor heard our concerns and agreed to meet with me and LGBTQ+ members of our senior team in Florida to discuss the ways to address them,” Chapek shared in a statement. “Gov. DeSantis committed to me that he wanted to make sure that this law could not be weaponized in any way by individuals in the state or groups in the state to unduly harm or target gay, lesbian, nonbinary or transgender kids and families.”

Prior to Chapek’s pledge, employees at Pixar and Disney shared a letter describing the company’s approach to gay and trans-inclusive storytelling. Employees alleged that Disney goes as far as demanding cuts to “nearly every moment of overtly gay affection… regardless of when there is protest from both the creative teams and executive leadership at Pixar.”

“We at Pixar have personally witnessed beautiful stories, full of diverse characters, come back from Disney corporate reviews shaved down to crumbs of what they once were,” the letter reads. “Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it.”

In the wake of this announcement by Chapek, the HRC has refused to accept the money, saying it wants to see more action by the company against the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

“The Human Rights Campaign will not accept this money from Disney until we see them build on their public commitment and work with LGBTQ+ advocates to ensure that dangerous proposals, like Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay or Trans’ bill, don’t become dangerous laws,” Joni Madison, interim president of the HRC, said in a statement. “While Disney took a regrettable stance by choosing to stay silent amid political attacks against LGBTQ+ families in Florida—including hardworking families employed by Disney—today they took a step in the right direction. But it was merely the first step.”

In response, a a spokesperson for the company states, “We signed the HRC’s national business statement opposing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and pledged to financially support their efforts, and while we are surprised and disappointed that they will not take our financial support at this time, we remain committed to meaningful action to combat legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community.”

---

Late last month, Florida’s House Of Representatives passed what people are calling the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, a nightmarish work of homophobia and outright cruelty that’s essentially designed to prevent any discussions of sexual orientation or gender identity in schools. If it’s signed into law, which it probably will be, it will create an environment in which children are taught at a young age—either implicitly or explicitly—that it is wrong to be anything but straight and cisgendered. It is, to put a fine point on it, fucking evil.

But, as with anything related to Florida, it’s worth checking in on the major American corporation that practically runs a sovereign nation out of the state and see what Mickey Mouse has say about this latest despicable act of hate against the LGBTQ community. If you ask Disney CEO Bob Chapek, though, the company actually has very little to say. The company has yet to explicitly address the horrific piece of legislation coming out of its home state, and Variety has now obtained a company-wide email from Chapek that makes it clear that the lack of a public statement is on purpose.

In the memo, Chapek says that he doesn’t “want anyone to mistake a lack of statement for a lack of support” of the LGBTQ community, saying “we all share the same goal of a more tolerant, respectful world” but that “where we may differ is in the tactics to get there.” Chapek argues that “corporate statements do very little to change outcomes or minds,” suggesting that “they are often weaponized by one side or the other to further divide and inflame.”

So, rather than outright saying that Disney supports the LGBTQ community and that this legislation is evil and will hurt children for no reason other than the fact that its sponsors are evil, Chapek is going focus on creating “lasting change” with “the inspiring content we produce, the welcoming culture we create, and the diverse community organizations we support.” (The email highlights that Disney gave “nearly $3 million to support the work of LGBTQ+ organizations” last year, which is less than .1% of what the company paid for Star Wars, if that’s how you measure Disney’s money.)

Chapek does say in his memo that he plans to have a “more fulsome conversation” about Disney’s LGBTQ support at a company-wide summit next month, so hopefully he does genuinely have more in mind than “keep making movies.” You can read Chapek’s whole email up at that Variety link.