Christopher Cantwell, writer of Marvel Comics' The United States of Captain America series, donated his payment from the first issue to an LGBT nonprofit following The Walt Disney Company's financial support of the legislators behind Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill."The hateful & hurtful Parental Rights in Education Bill has passed the state senate & will soon be law. Disney financially supported every legislator behind the bill," Cantwell wrote on Twitter. "Today I donated all I was paid to write [The United States of Captain America #1] to The Matthew Shepard Foundation." The Matthew Shepard Foundation is an LGBTQ nonprofit organization that runs education, outreach and advocacy programs designed to raise awareness about anti-violence.
"The United States of Captain America #1 featured the debut of Aaron Fischer—the first LGBTQ+ person to ever call themselves Captain America," Cantwell said in a subsequent tweet. "I am honored to be a part of this character's creation, and will always be."
The United States of Captain America is a limited series from Marvel Comics (a Disney subsidiary) released in June 2021 to honor Captain America's 80th anniversary. Written by Cantwell and Josh Trujillo and drawn by Dale Eaglesham and Jan Bazaldua, the first issue introduced Aaron Fischer, "a fearless teen who stepped up to protect fellow runaways and the unhoused." Aaron debuted in June in honor of Pride Month.
Fellow Marvel Comics writer Jordan Blum followed Cantwell's lead, donating his payment for the Spider-Bot Infinity series to The Matthew Shepard Foundation as well. "Both horrified by the news and inspired by Chris, I'm doing the same and donating everything I was paid to write Spider-Bots to The Matthew Shepard Foundation," Blum wrote. "Thanks for setting an example for the rest of us, [Cantwell]."
Disney has faced significant backlash over its donations to the politicians behind the Parental Rights in Education bill, nicknamed the "Don't Say Gay" bill," which would effectively ban "classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels." The bill has been passed by the Florida House of Representatives and the Senate and is now expected to be signed by Governor Ron DeSantis.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek recently issued a company-wide email to employees regarding the company's silence on the bill, stating that while Disney would not directly or publicly condemn the bill, he and other executives "stand in support of our LGBTQ+ employees, their families, and their communities." Chapek has since directly addressed the issue during Disney's 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders Webcast and described an "encouraging" phone call with Gov. DeSantis, who "committed to me that he wanted to make sure that this law could not be weaponized in any way by individuals in the state or groups in the state to unduly harm or target gay, lesbian, nonbinary or transgender kids and families."
Chapek also announced that Disney would pledge $5 million to the Human Rights Coalition (HRC) and other LGBTQ+ charities. However, the HRC has denied this donation until "meaningful action" is taken from the entertainment company.