Raven-Symone Was One Of The Hundreds Of Disney Employees Who Walked Out In Protest Of Disney’s Inaction Regarding Florida’s Don’t Say Gay Bill

March 23, 2022 / Posted by:

Today, The Disney Corporation is finally having to face the “exclusively gay moment” that live-action Beauty and The Beast director Bill Condon promised us several years ago, only now, that gay moment has an LGBTQIA+ posse and allies, and is threatening to become a movement. According to Forbes, hundreds of Disney employees staged a walkout today in opposition to Disney’s handling of  Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill which “bars instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade,” and would allow parents to sue school districts for any perceived infractions. 75 employees walked out and protested in front of Disney’s studios in Burbank, California, and another 100 protested outside of the Disney Animation Studios Building, also in Burbank. And if you’re saying to yourself “That’s so Raven!,” you’re absolutely right, because Raven-Symone also mounted a protest with cast and crew members of her current Disney show, Raven’s Home, as well. This all spells bad news for Disney CEO Bob Chapek who probably thought he could just pray the gay away as if that shit wasn’t already baked into Disney’s DNA.

According to Forbes:

Disney employees across the country staged a full-day walkout Tuesday in response to the company’s “lack of action” and “apathy” over Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill, as portions of the company released statements in support of the LGBTQ community.

It is not clear how many employees across Disney’s studios, corporate offices, theme parks and other businesses participated in the walkout, especially because many employees are working remotely.

The walkout was organized by a group of LGBTQ Disney employees and allies, Disney Do Better, who announced a “series of collective actions” last week leading up to Tuesday’s protest, which was scheduled to last between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

As various sectors of Disney’s business, like Walt Disney World, Hulu, ESPN and Disney+ issued social media statements in support of the LGBTQ community and employees, Disney Do Better tweeted that they “support these messages” and the statements “were tirelessly advocated for by our own LGBTQIA+ co-workers to show support today.”

As rich and far-reaching as they are, The Disney Corporation could probably bring the entire state of Florida to its knees if they wanted to. Shit, they could probably take control of the entire U.S. government by threatening to shoot Baby Yoda in the head on a Disney+ live stream. But Disney’s a corporation, not a terrorist organization. And as recently as last month, they were funneling money to legislators who put forth the Parental Rights Education Bill. Bob’s initial response to the controversy, rather than denounce the bill, was to tell shareholders he’s going have a chat with his buddy Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is poised to sign it into law any minute now, and offer a $5 million donation for organizations that work to protect LGTBQ+ rights. And when that didn’t fly, Pixar employees read him the riot act in a letter which accused him of hypocrisy for claiming that the biggest impact Disney can have on “creating a more inclusive world is through the inspiring content we produce,” when every time they tried to include even the barest whiff of LGBTQ+ content, it gets shut down by higher-ups.

As outrage at Disney’s inaction grew, Chapek apologized for the company’s silence, and announced an immediate pause of all political donations. Last week, Disney Do Better released their list of demands, including that Disney “indefinitely cease” all political donations to politicians who have supported the bill, as well as making a donation to human rights groups, allowing employees to relocate out of Florida and stopping construction and investments in the state while the “hateful” legislation continues.

Chapek has not commented on the walkout publicly, and has not yet agreed to—or declined—the group’s demands.

Here’s a look at some of the walkouts and what they are trying to achieve.

Look, I don’t want to see anything bad happen to Baby Yoda any more than the next person. But somebody has control over that damn puppet. I’m not saying someone should take him hostage and dangle him over a swamp filled with ravenous alligators until the entire state of Florida can agree that bigotry, fear, and hate are not the way. But I’m also not not saying it either.

Pic: Instagram

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