Employees at Pixar have been understandably unhappy of late as they’ve seen their last three original features – “Soul,” “Luca” and this week’s “Turning Red” – all being sent directly to Disney+ and bypassing cinemas.
Things have come to a head this week though with the recent passing of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida which limits what can be taught in classrooms regarding gender and sexual orientation.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek released a statement last week saying the biggest impact the company can make is “in creating a more inclusive world is through the inspiring content we produce” and pledging $5 million to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and other organizations.
HRC has since rejected Disney’s donation stating they cannot accept it “until we see them build on their public commitment” and “meaningful action is taken to combat” the legislation.
Cut to today and in an open letter signed by “the LGBTQIA+ employees of Pixar, and their allies,” they shoot down Chapek’s idea of impacting society through the content they produce as they claim several Pixar pitches and scripts featuring LGBTQIA+ elements were apparently rejected by Disney:
“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.
Nearly every moment of overtly gay affection is cut at Disney’s behest, regardless of when there is protest from both the creative teams and executive leadership at Pixar.
Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it. Beyond the ‘inspiring content’ that we aren’t even allowed to create, we require action.”
The full letter is up on Twitter. The news comes as Pixar’s “Turning Red” has its debut tomorrow on the Disney+ streaming service.
Source: Variety, THR