![]() ![]() “ Little Mermaid had songs written by a gay person in the late ’80s. Despite the existence of singing flatware and an undersea kingdom where the buff mermaid sea king’s favorite thing is musicals featuring his many daughters, there are no actual gay characters in Beauty and the Beast or The Little Mermaid. “There’s always been such a strong queer sensibility to Disney’s work, which is of course because of how many queer people have always been creating that work.”Īs rich and nourishing as these stories are, the queer sensibility that resonates with queer Disney fans only operates in allegory. Berg self-identifies as a “Disney Gay,” having worked at the Disney Store in the Mall of America. “Howard Ashman’s films, which are just dripping with queer longing and subtext, speak to my soul on an incredibly deep level ,” Robert Berg, a writer based in the UK said. He won Oscars for Best Original Song for The Little Mermaid’s “Under the Sea” and Beauty and the Beast’s eponymous song, and was nominated against himself multiple times in those categories.Īshman drew upon his personal experiences to give us a mermaid who wants to live in a different world, a beauty who finds love where she’s not supposed to, and the terror of a mob coming after a “beast” they’ve been taught to fear. He also remains an example of how Disney both relies on and minimizes its LGBTQ employees and fans.Īshman wrote iconic lyrics for 1989’s The Little Mermaid and 1991’s Beauty and the Beast, and contributed to 1992’s Aladdin (lyricist Tim Rice finished the songwriting for Aladdin after Ashman died prior to Beauty and The Beast’s theatrical release). He’s credited with playing a large part in creating some of Disney’s best movies. He was also gay and died of AIDS in 1991. Ashman was one of the most talented lyricists of all time. When the LGBTQ Disney fans I spoke to explained why they love Disney, the name Howard Ashman came up over and over. How Disney Gays feel about the company and its “Don’t Say Gay” stance ![]() For Disney’s LGBTQ fans and employees, it’s a betrayal that can’t even come as a surprise. And it’s far from the first time the company has fallen short on queer issues. Its inaction in Florida paints a different, perhaps more realistic picture that this company isn’t living up to the promises it’s trading on. Disney has parlayed the feel-good, empowering message of its movies to position itself as a progressive, diverse, inclusive, and highly profitable company. The current controversy has illuminated the disconnect between one of the world’s biggest companies and its very devoted fanbase, which includes large numbers of devoted LGBTQ fans. And now it almost looks hypocritical - all of a sudden, this company is like, ‘No, we’re not about that life.’ But they make literally so much money off of us!” ![]() “I’ve given them so much blood, sweat, tears, and money. “I felt like I was just robbed,” Francis Dominic Garcia, a social media content creator who promotes Disney, told me. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign the bill into law at any moment. After an open letter from LGBTQ Pixar staff and their allies alleged that Disney had actively scrubbed “overtly gay affection” and queer representation from their movies, Chapek emailed employees that the company would halt all political donations in Florida on Friday, and donate to groups fighting similar legislation in other states. In response to the backlash over Disney’s inaction, CEO Bob Chapek said that the company unequivocally stood with its LGBTQ employees, expressing that support through “the inspiring content” that the company produces. The bill, passed in the Senate but yet to be signed into law, seeks to prohibit teachers from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity with young students.Īt first, Disney said nothing and was criticized for its lack of action, as well as for previously donating money to Republican politicians who have directly sponsored the bill. Over the past week, the entertainment juggernaut flipped and flopped in an attempt to reassure its employees and its massive fanbase about its position on Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Disney’s uncanny ability to minimize controversy (even when it comes to navigating human rights violations in China) and maximize sunny feelings is part of what makes its current controversy so uncharacteristic. Over the last few decades, no company has done a better job at capturing fans across seemingly every kind of demographic - all races, all religions, young and old, straight and gay - all while slyly becoming the most powerful entertainment entity on the planet. It’s proof of Disney’s success that almost everyone has a favorite Disney movie: The Little Mermaid, Mulan, Frozen, Tangled, WALL-E, the list goes on.
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