Earlier this year, the Walt Disney Co. was eager to “say gay” in criticizing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state’s new Parental Rights in Education law.
But Disney literally holds its tongue on the LGBTQ agenda when it comes to getting its bread buttered in other countries.
Breitbart News reported on Friday that Disney “is reportedly censoring gay and transgender content on the version of the Disney+ streaming service that it launched” in the Middle East in June.
Disney sculpted the animated movie “Lightyear,” the latest spin-off from its popular “Toy Story” series that includes a lesbian kiss, and the “Baymax” series, another spin-off that shows a transgender man who menstruates, according to Breitbart.
Disney+ Middle East is offered in several Muslim countries in the region, with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Qatar among them. According to the sports website Marca.com, for instance, homosexuality in Qatar can be punished by up to three years in prison, and in some cases death.
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A Disney+ spokesman told the Middle Eastern edition of Esquire magazine that the company would tailor its “kid-focused content” to comply with “regional sensitivities.”
Esquire reported that Disney+ has shelved at least six of its more recent movies, including “Lightyear” and “Baymax,” because they don’t align with the conservative cultural “sensitivities” of the locals.
“Content offerings differ across our many Disney+ markets, based upon a number of factors. Content available should align with local regulatory requirements,” Disney spokesman William Mullally told Esquire.
That’s something Disney obviously does not do, or even think about, in conservative areas of America — as exhibited by its political brawl with Gov. DeSantis over the Parental Rights in Education law, which bans school districts and classroom teachers from implementing lesson plans rooted in gender identity or sexual orientation.
In a statement after DeSantis signed the bill, Disney said the bill “should never have passed and should never have been signed into law” and that the company’s stated goal is “for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts.”
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Free Press.
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