Republican legislatures across the country have mobilized against the LGBTQ+ community, pushing through bills that would discriminate against them.
In Florida, the Parental Rights in Education bill—more commonly known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill—would prohibit any teaching concerning sexual orientation or gender identity “in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” The bill would also grant parents the right to sue teachers and schools for exploring these topics. Its incredibly vague language has those who are not bigoted and support LGBTQ+ equality very worried. Can an LGBTQ+ teacher be sued by a parent if they discuss their personal life? What about a student with LGBTQ+ parents?
Now, Florida Republicans—including Governor Ron DeSantis, a big proponent of the bill—have argued that it would not discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community. But a previous version of the bill contained a provision requiring schools to out students to their parents if they found out they were LGBTQ+, and when Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-FL) attempted to amend the bill to only prevent schools from conducting lessons “on human sexuality or sexual activity” so as not to marginalize all LGBTQ+ students and teachers, Sen. Dennis Baxley (R-FL), the bill’s sponsor, argued that such a change would “gut” the bill. (He refused to elaborate.)
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“So, it’s pretty clear what he thinks the guts of this legislation are,” said John Oliver on Sunday night. “It’s not about sex at all. It’s about denying the existence of gay people.”
The Last Week Tonight host proceeded to take aim at the corporations who have backed the bill’s sponsors and supporters, including, “AT&T, our soon to be ex-business daddy,” and Disney, which has donated $299,126 to supporters of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in the past two years.
“Now, are they morally bankrupt for doing that? Who’s to say?” asked Oliver, before answering his own question: “I’ll tell you: I am. I am to say. After all, I’m Zazu,” throwing to a picture of the red-billed hornbill he voiced in Disney’s The Lion King remake.
When the news broke that Disney had donated large sums of money to the backers of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, Disney CEO Bob Chapek defended the company’s silence on it, issuing the following statement:
“We are telling important stories, raising voices, and I believe, changing hearts and minds. Encanto, Black Panther, Pose, Reservation Dogs, Coco, Soul, Modern Family, Shang-Chi, Summer of Soul, Love, Victor… These and all of our diverse stories are our corporate statements—and they are more powerful than any tweet or lobbying effort. I firmly believe that our ability to tell such stories—and have them received with open eyes, ears, and hearts—would be diminished if our company were to become a political football in any debate.”
Oliver wasn’t buying this vision of Disney as a bastion of progressivism.
“Is this really a path that you want to go down, Disney?” said Oliver. “Because you’re the same company that’s coded basically every villain in your movies as gay, stereotyped minorities to a breathtaking degree, and had something called a ‘wench auction’ in place at Disneyland until 2018. So, I don’t know if you’ve had a 100 percent net positive effect here.” (Chapek eventually apologized.)
Disney also at one point owned Harvey Weinstein’s company, which he used to sexually assault countless women; snuck a “casting couch” scene into the movie Toy Story 2; and had a mock “casting couch” agency in the Disneyland park until the early 2000s.
I’ll leave you with the words of Amit Paley, CEO of The Trevor Project, an organization aimed at preventing suicide among LGBTQ+ youth.
“Every LGBTQ young person deserves to attend a school that provides an inclusive, affirmative environment—not one that aims to erase their existence… We know that LGBTQ youth already face higher risk for bullying, depression, and suicide—and this bill will only add to the stigma that fuels these disparities.”
