Pixar confirmed that they have restored a same-sex kiss to its Buzz Lightyear origin story. This is after employees protested the removal of gay storylines from Pixar films.
According to a Variety report on Friday, the said kiss scene will appear in Lightyear when it hits screens on June 17.
The following change was due to the circulation of a March 9 letter signed by “LGBTQIA+ employees of Pixar and their allies,” who accused Disney executives of censoring moments of “overtly gay affection” in their movies.
In a statement, Pixar mentioned that “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.”
It was in response to Disney’s mishandling of the recent Florida bill that seeks to ban the teaching of sexual identity and gender orientation in early-grade education as well as in “a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students”.
Only a handful of LGBTQ characters have been incorporated in Pixar’s feature films. Notably, in the 2020 film Onward, the main character Specter makes a reference to her girlfriend.
This flap at Pixar was a broader backlash against Disney CEO Bob Chapek and other top executives at the entertainment giant that they said failed to speak out against the new Florida bill that prohibits schools from teaching LGBTQ topics like sexual orientation or gender identity with students in third grade or below.
The Pixar employees were responding to a companywide memo in which Chapek touted Disney’s “unwavering commitment to the LGBTQ+ community.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) debunked one of the leftist falsehoods on the bill earlier this month. DeSantis explained that the measure simply bans sexual instruction for young schoolchildren, such as kindergarteners.
During a recent press event, a reporter told DeSantis “It says it bans classroom instruction on sexual identity and gender orientation.”
“For who? For grades pre-k through three — 5-year-olds, 6-year-olds, 7-year-olds. The idea that you wouldn’t be honest about that and tell people what it actually says — it’s why people don’t trust people like you, because you peddle false narratives,” DeSantis responded.
The Florida governor explained that if “you actually look at the bill,” it simply reads, “No sexual instruction in grades pre-K through three.”
JUST NOW: I asked @GovRonDeSantis if he supported HB 1557, the legislation critics call the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.https://t.co/CGiooSrKYn @WFLA https://t.co/H34CGSj7BJ pic.twitter.com/C518l1QaC3
— Evan Donovan (@EvanDonovan) March 7, 2022
Sources: New York Post, The Guardian, Independent, CNET, Variety, Breitbart, Your News