After Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill into law, Disney spread blatantly false claims about the legislation and vowed to fight for it to be repealed.
Democrats, radical leftist activists, and the mainstream media have falsely labeled the law as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
While mainly focused on reinforcing parental rights, the bill also prohibits classroom instruction regarding sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-3. The statute never uses the word “gay,” nor does it prevent anyone from saying the word.
Disney released a statement on March 28th continuing to blatantly lie about the bill and vowing to fight against it.
“Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law,” the statement began.
“Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that,” the statement continued. “We are dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ members of the Disney family, as well as the LGBTQ+ community in Florida and across the country.”
Statement from The Walt Disney Company on signing of Florida legislation: pic.twitter.com/UVI7Ko3aKS
— Walt Disney Company (@WaltDisneyCo) March 28, 2022
The backlash on social media was swift, with commentators condemning Disney both for repeating false claims about the law and for opposing a law meant to protect children.
“Isn’t Disney supposed to be a family friendly company? Why do they want to teach K-3 grade children about sex and gender theory and hide it from parents?” tweeted Christina Pushaw, a spokeswoman for DeSantis.
Isn’t Disney supposed to be a family friendly company? Why do they want to teach K-3 grade children about sex and gender theory and hide it from parents? https://t.co/jM73jIUpxP
— Christina Pushaw ?? (@ChristinaPushaw) March 28, 2022
“Your goal as a company should be to preserve the innocence of children, not fight against it on behalf of a small, radical group of employees who need the validation of having their choices validated by kindergarteners. It’s honestly incredible how a couple hundred pissed off employees can take hostage a company with 200,000 employees and hundreds of millions of consumers. Incredible and unconscionable. Cowards,” wrote Ben Shapiro, podcast host and Editor of the Daily Wire.
Your goal as a company should be to preserve the innocence of children, not fight against it on behalf of a small, radical group of employees who need the validation of having their choices validated by kindergarteners https://t.co/SN6wKdnVXD
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 28, 2022
“1) Is Disney opposed to the part that bars sexual/gender identity instruction for K-3 students? Or another part of the bill? 2) Has Disney put out a statement this forceful on the genocide in China, where they eagerly do business? Trying to pinpoint their ‘corporate values,'” said Fox News radio host Guy Benson.
1) Is Disney opposed to the part that bars sexual/gender identity instruction for K-3 students? Or another part of the bill? 2) Has Disney put out a statement this forceful on the genocide in China, where they eagerly do business? Trying to pinpoint their ‘corporate values.’ https://t.co/URGMjMOSYq
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) March 28, 2022
“The bill is about Parental Rights in Education (literally the name) so again, why is a theme park of quasi-furries hell bent on teaching 4-8 year-olds about getting it on without parental consent? Is that the new ‘family-friendly’ Disney?” said conservative radio host Dana Loesch.
The bill is about Parental Rights in Education (literally the name) so again, why is a theme park of quasi-furries hell bent on teaching 4-8 year-olds about getting it on without parental consent? Is that the new "family-friendly" Disney? https://t.co/5Kbo243Cnu
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) March 28, 2022