Same-Sex Kiss Reportedly Restored In Pixar’s ‘Lightyear’ Following Staff Uproar Over ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill
Socialites, get into this! Pixar’s forthcoming Toy Story prequel Lightyear has decided to put a same-sex kiss back in following an internal backlash to Disney’s handling of Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
The movie, which is out June 17, features Chris Evans as the voice of the character Buzz Lightyear. One of Buzz’s colleagues on his mission is a character named Hawthorne, voiced by Uzo Aduba. It was stated that Hawthorne is in “a meaningful relationship with another woman.” While that was always a part of the story, a kiss shared by the couple had been cut from the film. Now that came to a head in recent weeks as the company was revealed to be funding government officials who supported Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill which is soon expected to be signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The legislation would limit what teachers can say about gender and sexuality in the classroom.
RELATED: Florida Senate Passes Controversial ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill
It was said that the company ignored those allegations until its own Pixar employees called them out! They claimed that Disney execs cut “nearly every moment of overtly gay affection… regardless of when there is protest from both the creative teams and executive leadership at Pixar.” The bold move forced CEO Bob Chapek to acknowledge the controversy and, finally, put an end to the political funding. The letter clearly worked as the kiss to Disney’s upcoming summer blockbuster was also restored, Variety reports.
As the news site notes, in Pixar’s 27-year history, there have been just a small handful of LGBTQ characters of any kind. In 2020’s “Onward,” a one-eyed cop (Lena Waithe), who appears in a few scenes, mentions her girlfriend. The most overtly LGBTQ project in Pixar’s canon is a 2020 short film, “Out,” about a gay man struggling with coming out to his parents. That was released by the studio on Disney Plus as part of its SparkShorts program.
Lightyear will be released on June 17. While we wait for that, let us know your thoughts on all of this in the comment box below!
Press Play Below For More: