Disney Companies Share Statements of Support as LGBTQ Employees Kick Off Full Day of Actions

The Hot Zone: Anthrax star Daniel Dae Kim said that filming the National Geographic drama during the pandemic “was one of the hardest on-location experiences I’ve ever had in my career.” However, he said that quarantine and closed restaurants helped him and co-star Tony Goldwyn tap into the paranoia and caution of the post-9/11 anthrax attacks in 2001.

On Thursday, a group of Florida school-age students, parents of LGBTQ youth, and a teacher filed suit against a recent bill signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis that prohibits LGBTQ-related content or lessons in primary grade classrooms.The lawsuit, filed in U.S.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suggested that The Walt Disney Co. should be stripped of its “special privileges” in the state following its opposition to the new Parental Rights in Education law, dubbed by detractors as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

Florida State GOP Representative Spencer Roach said legislators have met twice to discuss repealing a statute that impacts how Disney can invest in its theme parks there. The move is retaliatory after the company and CEO Bob Chapek came out strongly against the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill just signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been lobbing criticism Disney’s way this week.

Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is the leading defendant in a massive 80-page lawsuit by Equality Florida against the “Don’t Say Gay” law he signed this week. Roberta Kaplan, one of the nation’s top civil rights lawyers, who successfully argued the Supreme Court case that effectively overturned the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA),  is the lead attorney on the case.“Florida House Bill 1557 (widely known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law) is an unlawful attempt to stigmatize, silence, and erase LGBTQ people in Florida’s public schools.

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started off the three-hour telecast with jokes about gender discrimination, diversity, political divisions and homophobia.“This year, the Academy hired three women to host because it’s cheaper than hiring one man,” Schumer quipped as the comedians welcomed viewers.Sykes then took a shot at Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell with a joke about “toxic masculinity” before she and Hall ganged up against Schumer to block her from Black Twitter. The trio ended the opening monologue with the three women chanting “Gay, gay, gay!”“We’re going to have a great night, and for you folks in Florida, we’re going to have a gay night! Gay, gay gay!” Sykes jeered.The actress was referring to Florida’s controversial Parental Rights in Education bill, which prohibits lessons about gender or sexuality in school between kindergarten and third grade, which critics refer to as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

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Disney is still trying to deal with the fallout caused by their donations to politicians that are supporting the hateful “Don’t Say Gay” bill, a law passed in Florida that prohibits instruction regarding gender identity and sexual orientation. The company has offered flowery statements but still hasn’t been able to quell the backlash and reports that they’ve removed same-sex affection scenes in Pixar films.

rallied in person and online in protest of the company’s response to a raft of anti-LGBTQ legislation that have either passed or are in the works in several state legislatures across the country. Some Disney employees, however, still had to work, especially those promoting “Moon Knight,” the latest Marvel Studios series to debut on Disney Plus.That did not stop the two stars of the series, Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke, from speaking out on the topic.“I guess my comment would be: gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gayyyyyy!” Isaac told Variety, breaking into song during the virtual “Moon Knight” junket.“It’s an absolutely ridiculous law,” Isaac continued, speaking specifically about the “Don’t Say Gay” law that passed in Florida that prohibits instruction regarding gender identity and sexual orientation. “It’s insane.

As many of its LGBTQ+ employees get set for a full-day walkout tomorrow, Disney has decided to postpone a management retreat set for next week as it continues efforts to calm the internal waters.

whereischapek.com offered employees details, saying they could take part in in-person and virtual walkouts for 15 minutes during their work breaks at 3 p.m. between Tuesday and early next week, followed by a full-scale walkout on Tuesday, March 22.

Angelique Jackson A group of Disney employees have planned a week of in-person and virtual walkouts in response to the company and CEO Bob Chapek’s handling of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Bill.On Monday afternoon, the Twitter account called Disney Walkout posted a message explaining that, “The LGBTQIA+ workers and allies at The Walt Disney Company are standing in solidarity together over the coming weeks.”The post then linked to an open letter written in partnership with members of the LGBTQ community across the Walt Disney Company (including Disney Corporate, Disney Television Animation, Lucasfilm, Pixar, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, Disney Streaming, Enterprise Finance, Enterprise Technology/Global Information Security and Bento Box). “The recent statements by The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) leadership regarding the Florida legislature’s recent ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill have utterly failed to match the magnitude of the threat to LGBTQIA+ safety represented by this legislation,” organizers wrote.

Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa have shared new song "Sweetest Pie." The pair, who will appear on the same bill on three dates of Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia World Tour, also star together in a Hansel and Gretel-esque video. Check that out above.

Bob Chapek is speaking out again.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment WriterAfter weeks of internal strife and external controversy surrounding the Walt Disney Company’s lack of public response to the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation in Florida, CEO Bob Chapek announced in a company email on Friday that Disney will pause all political donations in the state during a restructuring of its political giving framework.Chapek also apologized directly to the company’s LGBTQ employees for his widely criticized messaging on the issue.“It is clear that this is not just an issue about a bill in Florida, but instead yet another challenge to basic human rights,” Chapek wrote.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterThe Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek and other company leaders received a letter from Disney’s LGBTQIA+ Business Employee Resource Groups on Feb. 28, requesting the company “issue a public statement condemning anti-LGBTQIA+ policies in the U.S.” just after Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill had passed the state’s House of Representatives, but before it cleared the Senate, Variety has learned exclusively.“While there are over 200 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills being introduced across the nation (and more globally), we urge you to begin with speaking against these acts: The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill in Florida (set to go into effect July 1st) and the Texas Governor’s directive for state agencies to investigate gender-affirming care as ‘child abuse,'” reads the letter, which was obtained by Variety Thursday, following Chapek’s first public opposition to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill at the Disney shareholders meeting Wednesday.

Shortly after Disney CEO Bob Chapek spoke out publicly against Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill today, a very pointed response began circulating internally at the studio. A letter signed by “The LGBTQIA+ employees of Pixar, and their allies” took Chapek to task. It refuted, point by point, an internal memo Chapek sent to employees this week.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer civil rights organization, said today it will not accept any funding from the Walt Disney Co. without a greater commitment to the LGBTQ+ agenda.