In a new push for diversity, Disney wants to have more of its characters be racial minorities or part of the LGBTQ+ community by the end of 2022.
The matter was discussed in a companywide Zoom call that went down earlier this week, and a recording later made its way to Twitter.
Real-Life Richard Williams Reacts to Will Smith Slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars
In one widely-circulated screen recording, Karey Burke—Disney’s President of General Entertainment Content—spoke on how she felt compelled to call attention to the subject as the mother of two LGBTQ+ children.
“I’m here as a mother of two queer children, actually. One transgender child and one pansexual child, and also as a leader,” she said. “I feel a responsibility to speak—not just for myself, but for them.”
“We have many, many, many LGBTQIA characters in our stories, and yet we don’t have enough leads and narratives in which gay characters just get to be characters and not have to be about gay stories,” Burke added.
With light being shone on the matter, Burke wants the company to up its number of characters who are LGBTQ+ or part of underrepresented racial groups.
Video of another Disney Exec named Latoya Raveneau also began circulating, as she said her “leadership [at Disney] has been so welcoming to [her] not-at-all secret gay agenda.”
“I don’t have to be afraid to have these two characters kiss in the background. I was, wherever I could, just basically adding queerness,” she continued. “No one would stop me, and no one was trying to stop me.”
Source: Disney Executive Pushes To Include More LGBTQ+ And Minority Characters By The End Of The Year
