"Disney's Silence on Gay Youth" Transcript

Video transcript is on the left. Plagiarized text is highlighted, as is misinformation. For more info, see how to read this site

(This transcript was created from the original script uploaded as closed captioning. Differences where James skipped overdiverged from the script are highlighted.)

Hey everyone. Before we start the video I just wanted to thank everyone who’s donated to the Telos Pictures IndieGoGo campaign. We’ve passed 600% of the original goal and its all thanks to you. If you want to support the creation of an LGBTQ production company that will make movies for LGBTQ people, you can join at the link in the description.

Now let’s get to the latest slap in the face from Disney.

[Scrolling text over black Mickey background]:

"We understand how important this issue is to our LGBTQ+ employees and many others. For nearly a century, Disney has been a unifying force that brings people together. We are determined that it remains a place where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

The biggest impact we can have in creating a more inclusive world is through the inspiring content we produce, the welcoming culture we create here and the diverse community organizations we support, including those representing the LGBTQ+ community.”

That was the Walt Disney company's response when asked what their position is on Florida’s "Don’t Say Gay" bill. If you haven’t been watching the news.

The Don’t Say Gay Bill is a piece of crap education bill in Florida, the intention of which is to outlaw all discussions surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. Florida House Bill 1557 was introduced in the state House of Representatives in January, while an identical version, called the Senate Bill 1834, (I assume these bills are named after the year each political body thinks we still live in) advanced in the state Senate.

Both bills, titled ‘Parental Rights in Education’, ban classroom discussions about sexuality and gender identity in (quote) “primary grade levels”, but does not specify exactly what a “primary grade level” is, let alone which age bracket it defines. Which is common with other discriminatory bills, that being that they do not necessarily place limits on the scope of what the bill is meant to do.

Contrast to a bill about parking regulation, say, which will be three-hundred pages long, include every foreseeable caveat and exception to the bill, and include a thrown-in clause about lawn maintenance in a single cul de sac within one of the signer’s municipal districts. Especially in America, bills are usually incredibly specific, because the public and law enforcement (in theory) need to know the limits of their legal authority.

Descriminatory bills usually do not have limits because the governing authorities want to provide as much leeway for further discrimination as possible. It’s less about generating a mandate for civil action and more about removing restrictions on existing bigoted people, and validating their biogtry with political authority.

The bills seek to ensure greater rights for parents to decide what their children are exposed to in school. An earlier bill passed by Republicans, known as the ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’, was meant to give parents the right to “direct the upbringing, education, health care, and mental health” of their children.

Republican lawmaker Joe Harding, yeah this asshat, who introduced the bill in the state House of Representatives, hopes it will quote:

“reinforce the fundamental right of parents to make decisions regarding upbringing and control of their children.”

[James on-screen, zoomed in, in red lettering:] “Control… of their children…”

"Creating boundaries at an early age of what is appropriate in our schools, when we are funding our schools, is not hate,"

he said. Essentially saying that any child whose family can’t afford a progressive private school doesn't deserve to learn about anything other than “and when mommy and daddy fell in love, a stork came.”

This is curious as the language of this bill is directed at giving parents ‘more control’ over their families. However, the mandate of the bill is to dictate what is and is not appropriate in public. Which, contrary to the language, targets parents who do support their queer children, and brands them as being unfit, or as fostering ‘inappropreate’ social attitudes among their children. Therefore, the public may interpret this as the supportive parents of queer-children themselves, being social delinquants. And that they deserve whatever consequences may come their way.

This bill promises freedom for parents… as long as they conform to a specific kind of freedom. Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida and a favorite for the 2024 Republican nomination for president, said that it was “entirely inappropriate” for teachers to be having conversations with students about gender identity. He also said:

“Schools need to be teaching kids to read, to write. They need to teach them science, history. We need more civics and understanding of the US Constitution, what makes our country unique, all those basic stuff.”

Yes he said “all those basic stuff”

And we know Florida school books aren't exactly prime real estate for truthful depictions of, say, the war of Northern Aggression, now don’t we? Anyway.

On February 25th this passed through the Florida House of Representatives, on its way to quickly becoming law. President Joe Biden, or someone on his team (more likely), quickly tweeted:

[Tweet displayed on screen:]

“I want every member of the LGBTQI+ community — especially the kids who will be impacted by this hateful bill — to know that you are loved and accepted just as you are. I have your back, and my Administration will continue to fight for the protections and safety you deserve.”

In response to the bill passing, former Disney CEO and Chairman Bob Igre^{[sic: Iger]} wrote

“I’m with the President on this!... this bill will put vulnerable, young LGBTQ people in jeopardy.”

Side note: it’s been theorized that Igre^{[sic: Iger]} intends on running for president as a democrat in the near future so he doesn’t want to get on the bad side of any gays right now. And this is true to form for democrats who use social outrage to signal that they’re on the right side of history. Whereas if Iger actually wanted to make a difference, there is a lot he could do that would be more substantial than tweeting the equivalent of ‘that goes for me, but double.’ Like… spend some of his hundreds of millions of dollars on supporting young LGBTQ people he’s so worried about.

But here’s the rub. Bob Chapek, the current CEO and Chairman of Disney said nothing. The only thing that came out with his name even associated with it was that milk toast^{[sic: milquetoast]} non-statement I read at the beginning of the video. You see, Chapek’s been busy putting his own stamp on Disney corporate culture, and is clearly less willing than even Igre^{[sic: Iger]} to advocate for, you know, human rights causes.

For example, The Hollywood Reporter… reported that a knowledgeable source at Disney has said that Chapek balked at the idea of weighing in on even fighting over even voting rights in Florida. Quote:

“Chapek is staunchly opposed to bringing Disney into issues he deems irrelevant to the company and its businesses,”

this anonymous person said.

Which is a massive problem because Disney brings a lot, and I mean A LOT of money into Florida, so if Disney were to threaten to pack up it’s east-coast theme park and leave the sunshine state if certain bills were passed, that could significantly impact political decisions in that state.

They did that when Georgia was messing around with these kinds of bills, since most Disney movies are now shot in Atlanta, and the state backtracked on its own hateful political agenda real fast.

According to a source familiar with both Iger’s and Chapek’s leadership thought process, Iger tended to speak out NOT only when issues affected the company’s business interests but when they affected its employees, now numbering nearly 200,000. But this person says Chapek has taken a narrower view and has been concerned that Disney might be viewed as too liberal.

HAH! (That might be funny if it wasn’t so terrifying. Welcome to the tagline of 2022!)

[Quotes below presented on-screen next to James's head.]

Even when his own employees push back against his reluctance to say that gay kids are valid, he prefers to make these conversations as hush hush and in-house as possible. Disney’s chief diversity officer sent a message to staff on March 2 referencing “deeply troubling and heartbreaking” developments in the news, noting that Chapek had asked “to meet with leaders in our company’s LGBTQ+ community to discuss how Disney can best support these important and valued employees and cast members.”

She went on to say that the company would schedule “Reimagine Tomorrow,” conversation on March 22nd that will be dedicated to “issues of concern to our LGBTQ+ colleagues,” and announced a company-wide “Reimagine Tomorrow Global Summit” for April 13th. The assumption is that Chapek will take part in these events, but that has yet to be seen.

Disney has 77,000 employees in Florida alone, where it operates both parks and cruise lines. Pre-COVID, Disney Parks accounted for more than one-third of all company revenue. In 2021, when still contending with the pandemic, the division brought in $16.5 billion in revenue. In 2019, its last full year pre-COVID, it brought in $26.2 billion.

The company’s website does affirm support for freedom of identity and expression:

[Scrolling]:

“Disney is a leader in LGBTQ workplace equality and content-”

[James cuts off the quote.] Content? A leader in LGBTQ content? Well that’s… news… Have we been looking at the same release schedule, Disney? Like ‘leader’ as in racing ahead of the competition, venturing into uncharted territory, and developing new innovations which inspire others to keep up with you? Because none of those things are going on these days.

The only real cinematic "innovations" that have come out of Disney lately are the projection screens that they use the Mandalorian, and letting Chloe Zhao shoot a superhero movie outside. Innovation!

Meanwhile, on the gay front, Netflix’s ever-expanding library of LGBTQ-content dwarves whatever Disney’s peddling as their next first gay character. You’re not even a follower, Disney, you’re just kinda Lebnitzing your way to fame. Newton publishes his theory of optics, you write a very public letter to make sure everyone knows you were doing it too. (Nick wrote that one. Now the Lebnitz stans are gonna come for me…)

Though really, is it worth mentioning Netflix is good fair^{[sic: fare]} for queerfolk when they just re-signed Dave Chapelle for more comedy specials after he was “canceled,” big quotes there, for saying some horrible stuff about trans folks. They just don’t cancel people like they used to.

But pay no attention to that, queer-consumers. You get a whole second season of Young Royals! Coming soon… (Yeah we’ll talk about that later. There are thoughts.)

Like if your words and your actions aren’t going to say the same thing, at least Netflix is putting a budget into trying to convince us that they give a damn. I mean find yourself a corporate conglomerate that’s gonna gaslight you softly, am I right?

But Guess who’s gonna have a rainbow logo during pride month? The answer is everyone. Everyone will have a rainbow logo during pride month. Because only among the queer community can you go to such minimal effort to get the most positive feedback.

In all this discussion about raising awareness for gay rights, it’s like everyone stopped listening after the ‘awareness’ part. A whole lot of good awareness does when it comes to laws that explicitly target us — and now our parents. The ones who actually care about us! Because the lawmakers are sure AWARE we exist now!

And Florida is not alone in this renewed crusade against queer kids. Dozens of laws have popped up across the country trying to keep any gender or sexuality confirming language out of schools. Including a widespread book ban that, although took a chainsaw approach, famously banning books like Maus from classrooms, also took out any LGBTQ focused or inclusive books they could find as well.

Texas is where the real ire has been pointed recently. Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion that likened gender-affirming care for minors to child abuse. Days later, Governor Greg Abbott doubled down with a letter calling on professionals, including teachers and doctors, to report parents who give their children gender-affirming care. The letter added that there would be similar reporting requirements for the general public, and consequences for those who don't report.

Which, given that medical professionals are — professionally — heald^{[sic: held]} to confidentiality, even in instances where someone has been murdered, these lawmakers seem to be asking doctors to choose between their medical licence and fines or prison.

Where else have you been legally required to report people who are doing things that the dear leader has a personal problem with? You know what? Don’t even answer that. I’m sure I had some specific, totalitarian, authoritarian bureaucrat in mind. But really ‘reporting your neighbors to authorities’ isn’t exactly rare and is something we really should have left in the 20th century with Joseph McCarthy.

Now, Adri Pérez, a policy and advocacy strategist at the ACLU, pointed out that neither the letter nor the opinion are legally binding. No one actually has a legal duty to report someone receiving gender-affirming care.

"They have no legal effect, and they cannot curtail anyone's constitutional rights," Pérez told NPR. "The attorney general and the governor can share their opinions, but it is just their partisan opinion that have been created to target transgender kids and their families."

But the message is crystal clear. Regardless of what call to action may or may not be in a piece of legislation, the state is projecting the message to its citizens that descrimination^{[sic: discrimination]} is acceptable in this instance. And that the state will not prosecute persecution. That, if you believe that Americanness is qualified as adhering to American laws, bigotry is the ‘American’ thing to do.

Emmett Schelling, the executive director of the Transgender Education Network of Texas said:

"The state leadership has said, 'We would rather see dead children ... instead of happy, loved, supported, thriving trans kidschildren that are alive and well."

Texas proposed more than forty bills in 2021 alone that targeted trans and non-binary youth in the state. As if a bunch of queer minors are the most dangerous threat to American national security right now. Or ever. But especially right now especially.

In October 2021, the Texas legislature passed a bill barring transgender girls from playing on girls sports teams, and transgender boys from playing on boys sports teams. The law went into effect in January, making Texas the 10th state to enact similar legislation.

So you can see these acts of hatred aren’t going away. But it’s not like there’s been no push back to this. Students across Florida staged school walkouts in response to the Don’t Say Gay bill. While politicians say LGBTQ issues are "not age-appropriate" for the age group, the student vehemently disagreed. Waving rainbow picket signs and shouting “We say gay!” in walkouts across the state.

"The language and the supporters of the bill and the rhetoric around the bill really shows what this bill is, and it's an attempt to hurt queer people like me,"

said High School senior Jack Petocz, who organized the statewide protests on social media.

In response to the rally Bryan Griffin, DeSantis’ deputy press secretary, said in an email:

"All Floridians are free to exercise their First Amendment rights and peacefully express their opinions about any issue.”

After the rally, Jack Petocz was called into his principal's office and suspended "indefinitely."

On Feb. 22, writer Benjamin Siemon, whose résumé includes several Disney credits like Ducktales, took to Twitter to call out the studio for not taking a stance on the Florida legislation.

“I love and have loved working for Disney, but I am deeply saddened by their silence when it comes to speaking out against the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, especially now that an amendment suggests teachers must disclose a student’s sexuality even if they know that child will be harmed.”

The Republican hard turn into banning the existence of queer kids has actually presented challenges to giant corporations in several states. Recently, Texas Competes, an LGBTQ advocacy organization representing more than 1,400 corporations in the state — including Marriott and Dell — condemned Governor Greg Abbott after his anti-trans statements. (Though it is of note that Disney is not a part of the Texas Competes group.)

[James says "Sam Maxwell", but an on-screen correction says "Scott Maxwell"]

Sam Maxwell of The Orlando Sentinel wrote recently that Disney donated money to Florida State Senator Dennis Baxley, who has actively backed anti-gay legislation for years, including laws that would block gay couples from adopting children, and that they’ve also backed other politicians who support the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, as have Comcast, NBCUniversal, and AT&T.

Baxley also once compared kids who live with same-sex parents to kids raised by alcoholics and abusers and later said,

“I’m not phobic, but I simply can’t affirm homosexuality.”

Because although these Republican state senators might be putting children, Disney’s main demographic, in danger, they also tend to keep corporate tax rates low. And which one weighs on the conscience of Disney investors more? The potential trauma and death of queer children? Or the idea of their stock price dropping?

I realize a lot of people have rose-tinted nostalgia goggles when it comes to disney, and I myself enjoy a lot of the content, but as a corporation, their primary priority is their stockholders. Not their audience, not their employees, not their legacy. And the stockholders don’t seem to have a problem with this corporation (that produces children's media) supporting politicians who support legislation that targets and discriminates against children.

I can say that all we have to do is target Disney’s profits in response to this to drive down revenue which would negatively impact dividends… the shareholders would then hold an emergency meeting and the board of directors would put pressure on Chapek to do… something? But wouldn’t it just be nice if people with money actually cared about anything else?

Florida Democratic State Representative Anna Eskamani said that companies like Walt Disney’s priorities are clear:

“The business lobby seems more focused on securing tax breaks…than living up to their so-called corporate values of inclusivity.”

And all the while Disney stays quiet. Well… all except Abigail Disney. Writing:

“It’s pretty fundamental. As Einstein said, you can’t stand still on a moving train. When laws are being passed that are this hateful and dripping with prejudice, there is no neutrality. Not saying anything is saying a lot. @WaltDisneyCo get a spine”

Abigail Disney also called her family legacy into question after it was revealed that the Walt Disney Company donated to the representatives who supported the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Stating:

“I could not be more unhappy with their political activities, both in terms of whom they fund and how they lobby. I would strongly support a law to require all corporations to reveal ALL of their funding and lobbying moves.”

It’s worth noting that Walt Disney World is located near Orlando, Florida, and the Disney parks recently issued a fifth “key” called “Inclusion” to its Cast Member Training Worldwide. Empty platitudes from a soulless corporation.

But they said they won’t be releasing any movies in Russia for the foreseeable future. So at least we know that war can bring them to their senses. Though they were pretty okay with Russia arresting and disappearing queer folk for the last twenty years.

The nihilist in me just kinda wants to shrug and say ‘well… can you really expect anything better from a soulless corporation?’ In fact the nihilist in me becomes more and more significant the more this happens. Because every step we take to that whole… be the change you want to see in the world — ends up being a door in the face. It’s easier to keep your head down and move along. Scrape by however you can manage.

But for some people, being able to ‘scrape by’ is a best-case scenario. Let’s say you have a relatively open-minded population. Or at least, a population for whom the majority are ambivalent, but who exist in a cultural zeitgeist where the ethical code is geared towards morality and community-building. Let’s also say that there is a fraction of the national political body who, for the sake of perpetuating their actual agenda, target specific groups to destabilize, distract, and disenfranchise.

If this moral population is able to make ends meet comfortably, they will naturally demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the discriminatory practices. However, take this same population, and over-work it to the point of chronic burnout. This population now exists in a situation where it is nearly impossible for large groups to make a living without working multiple jobs, or working too much at one job.

They are crushed under a successful workplace propaganda effort that workers rights are detrimental to a worker’s income, and where the only valid work ethic is to work as much as humanly possible. Between work, family, and kids, are they going to have the time or energy to actively participate in political discourse? Looking south from over the border [from Canada], I’m honestly surprised — and impressed — that as many people in Florida and Texas have showed up to stand against these bigoted laws as they have.

Right-wing lawmakers have an invested interest in limiting the number of people who benefit from widespread social rights. The less groups of people who are politically ‘valid’ — the easier it is to develop consistent propaganda to manipulate these people.

And also generating a horde of exploitable labor from the underclass. That last part is key. Because, a fun fact that lives in my head rent-free is that, at its peak, roughly 70% of the Roman Empire’s population… were not Roman citizens. They were slaves. Slaves, and freed slaves, throughout the empire’s domination, made up the bulk of what we now consider to be ‘the Roman people.’

That other 30% — and an even smaller fraction was actually the socially superior ‘Patrician’ class — required a legion of slavery in order for society to function. So if we’re still sitting around wondering why we can’t all just get along, it’s because a collection of social superiors NEED an underclass in order for their lives to function. Costs of labor cut into profits. And if slavery is ‘illegal’ — except for instances of mass-incerceration — the next best thing is to make it as cheap as possible to exploit someone.

And someone is easier to exploit if the government is consistently de-valuing their identity and their selves. What right do you have to ask for a living wage if the government itself has deemed you as not being suitable to exist?

Meanwhile, non-queer-people can’t seem to understand WHY suicide is still highest per-capita among queer youth, specifically queer trans youth. You know what they need? MORE AWARENESS. That’s all they need. More awareness.

[Doing a 'Susan' impression:] Why are there all these suicides? Haven’t all of these depressed queer kids seen the rainbow logos every June? Haven’t they seen all the gays Disney’s been putting in movies? Like that one in Cruella, or Beauty and the Beast, or Jungle Cruise. I mean they never said they were gay in the movie but still. OH, and that guy from the Eternals. I didn’t go see it but I’m sure these LBGTABC kids did. Don’t they know they’re being seen? I’m doing MY part! I watch Queer-Eye on Netflix!

The objective of these laws is not to erase queer people. These lawmakers aren’t dumb— Well… most of them… The corperate moguls funneling money into these lawmakers aren’t dumb. They know queer people have this weird habbit of repopulating themselves because, i don’t know, deviations from cis-hetero identity expressions are somehow doccumented throughout all of biology.

These laws are not to erase queer people, it’s to make our lives as difficult as humanly possible so that the upper-echelons of our society have a chronically refreshed underclass of people that they can exploit. And nobody’s more in need of an exploitable labor pool like a corporation with a theme park.

Even though lawmakers and CEOs and billionaires may not really have a problem with queer people, in order to have an easily available desperate underclass who will be (presumably) grateful to work whatever job they’re given, they require the public at large to put as much social pressure on this group as possible.

And when it comes to corporations and their apparent support of rights, their silence is in their best interest. Because it is them who benefit from the underclasses. The more people are persecuted, and the more severe that persecution, the less they have to actually do to turn around and trumpet how progressive they are. They give us less, they pay us less, and we’re grateful because ‘LGBTQIA-Friendly cooperation to the rescue!’ All the while indirectly supporting our persecution because ‘tax breaks’ — or worse, being entirely indifferent to our suffering and trying to turn around and make a buck off us anyway.

We’re not a community to them, we’re a sponge that they can squeeze anything out of. Cheap labor, grateful for the opportunity to work in a place where our coworkers won’t spit on us? They got that. An audience so starved for any meaningful representation that the slightest nod in our direction sends us into euphoric fits? They got that.

Without competition to see who can make the best queer content, we’re sitting at the wrong end of half a dozen monopolies of hetero-hegimonistic CEOs and billionares who think they have the right to decide what we want. Because they’ve been systematically eliminating — not only our options — but our very rights and dignities.

They’ve got this lie going where they want us to think that we need them. That we have no other option but to support them because who else are we going to support. Big companies like Disney are like Buffalo Bill from the Silence of the Lambs. Unable to actually change or transition, but more than willing to wear the skin of any minority that suits them.

So in spite of the fact that these ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bills may end up being toothless or, struck down by higher courts, and that there may be no way to actually enforce them, they are projecting to the public at large that their anti-trans and anti-gay laws are not bigotry — they are the right way to be an American. That people who feel that ‘cis’ is a slur against non-trans people have the backing of, at least, the state government.

These are laws to embolden people who were already bigoted, or to coerce people who were indifferent. Or maybe who knows? There’s gonna be an anti-queer gestapo with state funding turning up soon.

This is America. Who knows anymore?

I’m tired. I’m really tired. I’m tired of begging these shit-heads for representation. And tired of fighting with these other assholes to please look at us as people. It would be very easy for Disney to come out and say “We oppose what the state legislature is proposing in Florida and we may not renew our certain land leases within the state”.

It’s an empty threat, because Disney would never actually abandon Walt Disney World in Orlando, but that’s 77,000 people who would lose their jobs at Disney if the state goes through with these draconian hateful laws. That’s 77,000 people who would be activated to stop these laws from being passed. Just say the words Disney.

I’m not asking for gay superheroes this time. We got one, and he was awesome. I’m not asking for a gay prince charming. I’m not asking for a trans disney princess. I’m asking you to say “No.” when these vicious politicians say “You can’t say gay, but you sure as hell can say hate.” You can say “no”. You can say “We say gay” like these kids did. They have more balls than your billion dollar corporation and your heartless CEO. Tell the state you’ll pull your business out of there.

Do something. For Christ sake, with everything going on in the world right now you have the power to make SOME peoples lives a little bit easier. Or, Jesus, at least not harder than they already are. Queer kids, even with the most loving families, still live in fear in the best of times. So show them that you’ve got their backs. That you actually do care about families. That the money from those goddamn rainbow mickey ears we all buy actually goes to doing something to help instead of just feeding donations to hateful politicians who will give you your goddamn tax breaks.

Do something.

Do something.