Disney employees in Florida have rallied against a new law that prohibits elementary school teachers from discussing homosexuality with their students. All week, Disney strikers in Orlando demonstrated against this law, but also against the speech deemed too timid by their company.
With our correspondent in Miami, David Thomson
In front of the entrance to disneyworld of Orlando about fifty employees demonstrated every day this week at the time of their lunch break with a slogan: ” Disney can do better “. They lament the apathetic reaction, in their words, of their CEO to the Florida legislature’s passage of a law called by its critics ” don’t say gay (Don’t talk about gays). This law prohibits primary school teachers from talking about homosexuality and gender issues to their students.
On March 7, in front of a delegation of LGBT employees, Bob Chapek was initially hostile to any public position taken by Disney against this law, believing that company press releases have little impact. Politics. These statements perceived as a lack of support for the LGBT+ community sounded the mobilization and the critics.
A great day of mobilization in perspective
” Chapek is more worried about the reaction of the right than of his employees “, wrote on Twitter Abigail Disney, director of a very critical documentary against the Disney company and granddaughter of Roy, the co-founder of Disney.
The Disney boss tried to calm things down by offering $5 million to pro-LGBT groups. He also called the Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis to tell him of his disappointment, but nothing helped, Disney employees are still calling for a big day of mobilization, Tuesday, March 22.
5/ Nothing about the “don’t say gay bill or about Chapek’s memo is consistent with any of these values. Many LGBTQI people and their allies work for or look to Disney for ally-ship. But Chapek is more worried about right-wing backlash than about his own loyal fans and employees.
—Abigail Disney (@abigaildisney) March 8, 2022