Disney CEO expresses “unwavering commitment” to LGBTQ+ people after ‘Don’t Say Gay’ backlash

By Dr Christopher Pepin-NeffA new study from the University of Sydney will look at the impact of COVID on LGBTQI community life in NSW, including Oxford Street. The research project is being coordinated by the Sydney Policy Lab and will look at the implications of COVID-forced closings as well as new venues that opened during the height of the pandemic.Gay sex clubs like Sydney Sauna are a good example of social capital, where social trust is shared, and this may create a network of friends who go to the same doctor, gain access to PrEP, and seek sexual health information as a result.

In Olivia Wilde's directorial debut, Booksmart is a coming-of-age story about two goodie-two-shoes best friends who decide to let it all go before high school graduation, finding love, friendship, and fun in the process.Queer icon Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever star as the main duo and experience teen mayhem, queer awakenings, and oh so much more in this wonderful comedy.The film is available to stream on Hulu.Few documentaries offer such an important snapshot of a moment in queer life like Paris is Burning. Filmed during the late '80s, the film captures the Black and brown queer people who ran the New York ballroom scene and the legacy they left behind. A story about family, community, and vogue, few works document a culture-defining era like this.

The latest proposed San Francisco electoral map maintains the Tenderloin and central South of Market neighborhoods in the same supervisor district. But the boundaries of the city's 11 supervisorial districts are still far from being set in stone.

Kanye West’s rep has addressed reports that circulated Friday stating that the rapper is “going away to get help” after he publicly harassed ex-wife Kim Kardashian and her boyfriend Pete Davidson.

The St. Augustine Record.Following the outcry, Willets "immediately" spoke with the teacher and demanded the removal of the shirt, which they complied with.

DANCING On Ice star Matt Evers has dished on his former dance partners including his least favourite. The pro skater, who was partnered with Corrie's Sally Dynevor in the competition this year, opened up about the challenges of partnering up with famous names.

I’d love to incorporate more sustainable, plastic-free choices in my everyday life, in a bid to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. Having ditched makeup wipes a long time ago and swapped to reusable removal pads, I’ve been looking at other changes that I can make, too.

Rowling said as she tweeted a clip of Bell's interview on BBC News that was posted by a former BBC journalist.Bell, who is a former staff governor at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, was speaking about children who suffer from gender dysphoria. There has been a "great pressure to affirm these children as being trans" without having "appropriate exploration," according to Bell.History will judge whether Dr David Bell was a hateful transphobe or trying to alert people to a medical scandal, but he's far from the only health professional raising these concerns (and I have the letters and emails to prove it.) https://t.co/siTOdD6CGC"Thirty-five percent of these children are on the autistic spectrum.

LGBT+ identities are still as important and relevant than they were while I was growing up. Positive representation would have helped me feel like I truly belonged at school, and that it was a safe space. Long before I came to terms with my identities, I had been called various slurs and bullied for being ‘weird’ or different. For a long time I felt like everyone else was following a rulebook – about how to be a good girl, have a celebrity crush, fall in love with a boy – that I never received.

GEMMA Collins stunned fans with her incredible weight loss today as she posed in a glamorous purple coord after shedding four stone. The 41-year-old star stood with her hands on her slimmer hips and flashed a huge smile.

Harry Styles stripped down for new music, Lady Gaga brilliantly dismissed Caitlyn Jenner, and Donald Trump tested his gaydar on a crowd.

Welcome to Screen Gems, our weekend dive into queer and queer-adjacent titles of the past that deserve a watch or a re-watch.The stories of Charles Dickens have become the stuff of pop-culture mythos. Like Shakespeare, people often quote or allude to the characters and plot twists of Dickens’ writing without even realizing they’ve done so.

ABOVE: Happy birthday to perfection. More here.

We recently revisited Liza Minelli’s long-forgotten 1989 electronic dance album Results. Next, we thought we’d take a look at another lesser-known release by a different one of our favorite gay icons.Related: We need to revisit Liza Minnelli’s super gay electronic dance album that nobody seems to rememberIn 1982, Cher released I Paralyze, a strange mix of soft rock and new age songs with a few rockabilly ballads thrown in for good measure. It was her first and only release on Columbia Records and a commercial flop that ultimately resulted in her taking a five-year hiatus from music.

Hi Jake,My boyfriend and I moved in together during quarantine. At that point, we had only been together for about six months, but it made sense financially, and it felt right. In the beginning, everything was awesome. We had sex every day, sometimes multiple times a day, and got to know each other really, really well. Now, quarantine is over. We’re still both working from home. But things have changed. The sex is fine but not what it used to be, and I’ve started masturbating, usually at least once or twice a day. The problem is, I feel like I need to hide it from him, as if I’m cheating. We only have a two-bedroom, so keeping it secret can sometimes be difficult. Is it weird that I feel like I’m doing something wrong? I find myself doing it secretly in the shower, behind closed doors, or only when he’s out of the apartment, and I have a fear I’m going to get caught. Is this normal?Cheating with MyselfDear Cheating with Myself,Ah, the age-old question, “Is masturbation cheating?” Cheating usually involves some sort of betrayal, a refusal to be completely upfront and honest about what one wants sexually, or acting out to meet those needs behind a partner’s back.

There’s no user manual to being gay, so until some enterprising dude publishes one, all we can do is heed advice from others in our community.To that end, hundreds of Reddit users commenters shared words of wisdom after one person asked for the “unspoken rules that every gay guy should know.”Here are some of their responses, edited for brevity and readability… and judiciously censored for mixed audiences!“Communicate, and don’t assume that you are on the same page or that anything should be considered ‘common sense’ and doesn’t need to be addressed.”“Do. Not. Fall.

Twitter, “we are ending an inequality that was no longer justified.”Related: FDA approves injectable form of PrEP given every two monthsViolette Cordaro, head of the LGBTQ center Nosig in Nantes, said the change had partly come about because of the increase in gay men taking PrEP. This made the previous four-month restrictions nonsensical.“It allows homosexuals who do not take PrEP—a preventive treatment that protects against HIV—to give blood.

little or no LGBTQ representation in government, anti-LGBTQ laws are now spreading like wildfire across the country. According to the ACLU, there are now almost 240 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced this year alone.“Don’t Say Gay” bills, criminalization of gender-affirming health care for trans kids, bathroom bans, sports bans, and other anti-LGBTQ bills are not harmless political tactics in a so-called “culture war.” They have serious consequences and are a matter of life and death for our kids.The sick reality is that these bills will cost lives.The Trevor Project tracks mental health among LGBTQ youth and found that queer and trans children are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers.

For the past few months, I’ve been completing one book per week as part of a reading challenge that is proving rigorous but delightful. I’ve recaptured some of the uncomplicated joy of reading I remember from childhood, when books were home base, a place I was always trying to get back to. When I’d reread a book just to spend more time with its characters.

In the summer of 2020, not long after the murder of George Floyd spurred a racial reckoning in America, Carri Twigg’s phone kept ringing. Ms. Twigg, a founding partner of a production company named Culture House, was asked over and over again if she could take a look at a television or movie script and raise any red flags, particularly on race.

statement on an employee website. The site is titled Where Is Chapek, a reference to Disney CEO Bob Chapek.Chapek apologized Friday for the company’s slow response to the bill and promised to pause political contributions, which have gone to many of the measure’s supporters.

Gabrielle Union has criticised the Walt Disney Company for how it responded to Florida’s highly controversial ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.

Disney over Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill.The controversial bill would limit classroom discussions about gender or sexual orientation for certain age groups. While proponents of the bill, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, argue that these types of lessons don't belong in schools, critics say that the law would marginalize the LGBTQ community.A number of companies within Florida have decried the bill and DeSantis' backing of the legislation.

Marvel Studios have released a statement promising to pledge a “strong commitment” to the LGBTQ+ community, following backlash of Disney’s response to Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.

Angelique Jackson A group of Disney employees have planned a week of in-person and virtual walkouts in response to the company and CEO Bob Chapek’s handling of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Bill.On Monday afternoon, the Twitter account called Disney Walkout posted a message explaining that, “The LGBTQIA+ workers and allies at The Walt Disney Company are standing in solidarity together over the coming weeks.”The post then linked to an open letter written in partnership with members of the LGBTQ community across the Walt Disney Company (including Disney Corporate, Disney Television Animation, Lucasfilm, Pixar, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, Disney Streaming, Enterprise Finance, Enterprise Technology/Global Information Security and Bento Box). “The recent statements by The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) leadership regarding the Florida legislature’s recent ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill have utterly failed to match the magnitude of the threat to LGBTQIA+ safety represented by this legislation,” organizers wrote.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek finally apologised to the LGBTQ+ employees after the recent ‘Don’t Say Gill’ bill backlash.

Disney pulling political donations due to Florida's new "Don't Say Gay" legislation, Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Núñez on Friday claimed that companies "have no right to criticize" the state's action.Making an appearance on Fox News' The Ingraham Angle, Núñez derided Disney's decision as "woke" and likened it to bullying while also claiming that such companies do not have the right to critique the actions of "duly elected legislators" despite explicit First Amendment protections."They will try to bully us like the NCAA did, like Disney [is] doing," she said. "How dare they.

Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek announced Disney will be pausing all political donations in the state of Florida following a week of significant criticism of the company's initial silence on the Florida Legislature's "Don't Say Gay" bill.The company's lack of response to the bill, which would ban discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in some public school classrooms, sparked an intense backlash against Disney, internally and externally, prompting Chapek to shift to a public stance, calling for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to oppose the bill.DeSantis then called out the entertainment titan for its ties to China, accusing the company for criticizing "parents' rights" but continuing to work in China despite knowledge of the human rights issues in Xinjiang regarding Uyghur Muslims.After statements of apology to Disney's LGBTQ employees, Chapek released an internal memo on Friday further stating that the company would be pausing all political donations in Florida, affecting many of the politicians who had previously received money from the company.Several Disney donations were made to key co-sponsors of the bill, and in total, the company gave $253,850 to senators who voted to pass the "Don't Say Gay" bill.Donations made only for the 2022 general election go back to January 1, 2021, and records reviewed by Newsweek showed that Disney donated at least $33,000 for state Senate races and more than $98,000 in state House contests.Other primary GOP figures who have received donations from Disney included DeSantis, who received $50,000 from Disney Worldwide Services Inc., according to the Florida Division of Elections.Ashley Moody, Florida's attorney general, was given $25,000 from Disney during the 2022 general

Disney executives have censored gay affection in its films.In an open letter attributed to LGBTQIA+ animators and allies at the studio (obtained by Variety), it reads: “We have personally witnessed beautiful stories, full of diverse characters, come back from Disney corporate reviews shaved down to crumbs of what they once were.“Nearly every moment of overtly gay affection is cut at Disney’s behest, regardless of when there is protest from both the creative teams and executive leadership at Pixar.”The letter is in response to Disney’s messaging around the recently passed legislation in Florida known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which blocks the discussion of LGBT+ identities in schools.Disney’s soft reaction to the legislation attracted widespread criticism.

The Human Rights Campaign is not taking money from Disney anymore.

As controversy continued to swirl around Disney’s stance on Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, the Hulk himself today tweeted praise for Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s statement in support of the LGBTQ+ community.

Human Rights Campaign and employees at Pixar, GLAAD announced on Thursday that it will begin grading Hollywood studios on their record of LGBTQ advocacy and not just on their content. Disney CEO Bob Chapek initially proposed that Disney did not need to enter the political arena to fight anti-gay legislation, but would be changing the world for the better with its “inspiring content.”The media monitoring organization already produces a Studio Responsibility Index, which analyzes queer representation in releases by eight major film studio distributors: Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, STX Films, United Artists Releasing, Universal Pictures, The Walt Disney Studios, and Warner Bros.

Variety, blasting Disney for not doing more. They also complain about a lack of same-sex affection in Pixar movies.

On Wednesday, March 9, a group of Pixar employees published a letter to Disney CEO Bob Chapek, criticising his response to pressing LGBTQ+ issues. The document which was signed by “The LGBTQIA+ employees of Pixar, and their allies,” accused the organisation of censoring queer storylines, along with refusing to take appropriate action against harmful legislation. […]

Pixar have spoken out about Disney allegedly censoring same sex stories in an ongoing row over the company's response to the recently passed legislation in Florida known as the 'Don't Say Gay' bill.Employees at the animation giant released a statement, per Variety, claiming that corporate executives in their parent company have demanded cuts and edits from "nearly every moment of overtly gay affection...

Disney has been accused of censoring same-sex love in Pixar movies in a leaked letter from employees of the animation studio.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer civil rights organization, said today it will not accept any funding from the Walt Disney Co. without a greater commitment to the LGBTQ+ agenda.

“don’t say gay” bill and continuing to donate money to the bill’s sponsors, Disney CEO Bob Chapek, in his first public statement on the subject, shared that the company would be donating $5 million to the Human Rights Campaign and other organizations protecting LGBTQ rights.Chapek also intends to meet with Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis — who is set to sign the bill into law — to discuss the company’s concerns about the legislation. The two already spoke over the phone, according to Chapek.“The governor heard our concerns and agreed to meet with me and LGBTQ+ members of our senior team in Florida to discuss the ways to address them,” Chapek said during Disney’s board meeting today, in which he officially confirmed the company’s opposition to the bill.

Disney's silence on Florida Legislature's "Don't Say Gay" bill, CEO Bob Chapek announced that the company is taking a public stance on the matter and that he has personally called Governor Ron DeSantis to oppose the measure.During Disney's annual shareholder meeting on Friday, Chapek took time to address the controversy before the question-and-answer period, saying, "While [the company has] been strong supporters of the community for decades, I know that many are upset that we did not speak out against the bill.""I called Governor DeSantis this morning to express our disappointment and concern that if legislation becomes law, it could be used to unfairly target gay, lesbian, non-binary and transgender kids and families," the CEO said. "The governor heard our concerns and agreed to meet with me and LGBTQ+ members of our senior team in Florida to discuss ways to address them."Disney has faced widespread criticisms since Chapek declined to condemn the bill, which would ban discussion of "sexual orientation or gender identity" in Florida public schools, earlier this week.On Wednesday, Chapek said that the company had chose not to publicly address the bill in favor of working "behind the scenes" with lawmakers with whom the company has long-standing ties."We were opposed to the bill from the outset, but we chose not to take a public position on it because we thought we could be more effective working behind the scenes engaging directly with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle," the CEO said during the meeting.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDisney CEO Bob Chapek said Wednesday the company is pledging $5 million to the Human Rights Campaign and other organizations protecting LGBTQ rights following backlash to the company’s initial quiet response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, as well as a report that the company has given money to all of the bill’s sponsors. Chapek, who is taking his first public stance against the bill, says he will also be meeting with Republican Gov.

is partly enforced by allowing parents to sue any school they believe violated it.“The Animation Guild and the QueerTAG Committee want to express our immense disappointment with how The Walt Disney Company has responded to Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. It is disheartening that Disney, one of the world’s most successful brands with massive resources and a global platform, failed to take any action to help prevent the passage of this bill,” the guild said in a statement posted to its various social media accounts.“It is one thing to say that you ‘unequivocally stand in support of our LGBTQ+ employees, their families, and their communities.’ It’s quite another for you to stand silent while this scurrilous piece of homophobic legislation passes,” the group continued.

state Senate on Thursday passed a “Don’t Say Gay” bill that would ban “classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity” in primary schools, LGBTQ groups expressed outrage that Disney, one of the state’s biggest employers, has not voiced its opposition to the legislation. In fact, Disney CEO Bob Chapek defended the company’s silence in an internal memo to staff on Monday and argued that corporate statements on political issues like the “Don’t Say Gay” bill can be “weaponized” and are often “counterproductive.”Jean-Marie Navetta, director of Learning and Inclusion for PFLAG National, told TheWrap that Chapek’s memo represented a “complete turnaround from the way Disney has behaved in the past” on such issues.

Senate and is widely expected to be signed into law by GOP Governor Ron DeSantis—sparked national condemnation from LGBTQ advocates who say the bill will further harm young members of the community and punish students who mention anything related to sexual orientation or gender identity.Disney, which operates its theme park Walt Disney World near Orlando, has come under scrutiny for making political donations to key co-sponsors of the bill.Disney donated at least $253,850 to the senators who voted to pass the bill. The donations were made through the company's various subsidiaries including Disney Destinations LLC and Disney Photo Imaging LLC.The donations included $5,500 to Senator Dennis Baxley, who introduced the bill, according to data from the nonprofit OpenSecrets, which tracks political donations.Senate President Wilton Simpson, who voted for the bill, received $21,500 in donations from Disney.

The creator of Disney’s The Owl House is speaking out about the company's failure to take a stance against Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

Disney boycott after the company's CEO Bob Chapek refused to publicly condemn Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill.Chapek is facing harsh scrutiny on social media after declaring in a memo that The Walt Disney Company "unequivocally" stands with its LGBTQ+ employees, but wouldn't directly condemn the controversial bill making its way through the Florida legislature."We are committed to creating a more inclusive company—and world. I understand that the very need to reiterate that commitment means we still have more work to do," Chapek said in an internal memo to staff on Monday.Florida's new legislation, which is seen by many as discriminatory, was passed by the state's House last month.The Republican-controlled Florida Senate is expected to vote as soon as Tuesday on the bill, which prohibits "classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity" in certain grade levels in schools.Directly addressing Disney's silence on the bill, Chapek added in the staff memo: "I do not want anyone to mistake a lack of statement for a lack of support.

rapidly moves closer to becoming a reality, Disney has come under increasing scrutiny for its history of donating to the politicians behind the bill and its apparent intention to continue doing so.Under the mounting pressure, Disney CEO Bob Chapek affirmed to employees today that the company “unequivocally” stands with its LGBTQ+ workers and says that there’s more the company needs to do in that regard. At the same time, Chapek made his case for why the company isn’t speaking out more in a memo sent to Disney staff.“On Friday, I met with a small group of Disney LGBTQ+ leaders to discuss controversial legislation pending in Florida that would impact their communities,” Chapek wrote.

Protests and calls for a boycott continue to grow following the revelation that Disney donated to every single sponsor and co-sponsor of Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which seeks to curb discussions of LGBTQ topics in schools, and which was recently passed in the House and is expected to pass in the Senate and be signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Orlando Sentinel reports. And it appears it will continue to fund them.The bill would ban classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in grades where it is not “age-appropriate,” a rather vague definition, and opponents say it would harm LGBTQ+ students and teachers. It has been passed by the Florida House and is pending in the Senate.