A same-sex kiss that had apparently been cut from Pixar's Lightyear has been restored following the backlash to Disney's handling of Florida's Parental Rights in Education bill, aka the "Don't Say Gay" bill.
According to Variety, Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba) is in a relationship with another woman in the upcoming Toy Story spinoff. While that element was always in place, a kiss between her and her partner had been cut, only to be recently reinserted into the movie.
The Parental Rights in Education bill "prohibits classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels." Disney recently came under fire when it was revealed that the company had donated money to the campaigns of lawmakers who supported the legislation, and Disney CEO Bob Chapek's hesitation to condemn the bill itself prompted further outrage.
In a recently released statement from Pixar employees, it was also revealed that Disney had apparently scrubbed moments of affection between gay characters from its films. "We at Pixar have personally witnessed beautiful stories, full of diverse characters, come back from Disney corporate reviews shaved down to crumbs of what they once were," the statement read. "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. Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it. Beyond the 'inspiring content' that we aren’t even allowed to create, we require action."
Lightyear was announced in December 2020. As confirmed by star Chris Evans at the time, the film isn't about the Buzz Lightyear Toy Story fans are familiar with (voiced by Tim Allen) -- rather, it's "the origin story of the human Buzz Lightyear that the toy is based on." In addition to Evans, the film features the voices of Keke Palmer, Dale Soules and Taika Waititi as a trio of Space Ranger recruits and Peter Sohn as Buzz's feline companion Sox, as well as Uzo Aduba, James Brolin, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Efren Ramirez and Isiah Whitlock Jr.
Lightyear launches into theaters June 17.
Source: Variety