Disney Workers Stage Walkout Over Company's Reaction to Problematic LGBTQIA+ Bill

The #DisneyDoBetter, #DisneySayTrans, and #DisneySayGay hashtags are buzzing on Twitter.

We must protect the LGBTQIA+ community at all costs. That’s why hundreds of Disney employees staged a walkout in support of them on Tuesday.

It aimed to put pressure on the company to actively oppose Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which will ban discussions of gender and sexuality in schools.

While the bill was making headlines, it was revealed Disney had made political donations to lawmakers who support the bill.

Here’s everything you need to know about the walkout, the controversial bill that started it all, and what Disney plans to do about it:

Why the walkout?

The full-scale walkout on Tuesday morning came after a series of smaller walkouts, both physically and virtually, across various divisions.

It stems from the open letter Disney Walkout organisers released last week asking leadership to pull funding from the supporters of the controversial bill.

Essentially, employees are calling for Disney to stop making political donations to certain politicians and commit to a plan to protect LGBTQIA+ staff from such legislation.

While not clear how many people attended the walkouts physically, the action has received a stack of online support from Disney workers and those outside the industry.

Despite the movement trending, reports say the walkout didn’t cause any interruptions in operations.

The organisers allege this is because Disneyland cast members and parks employees didn’t feel safe to fully walkout after being advised by their union leaders to not participate.

They were also allegedly told they couldn’t wear Pride/trans Mickey Mouse pins – which Disney itself sells – to show solidarity and support for the action.

The "Don't Say Gay" Bill

In case you missed it, here’s a quick rundown of the bill in question.

It’s formally known as the Parental Rights in Education Bill, but critics are the ones who dubbed it the "Don't Say Gay" bill.

The legislation's text does not contain the term "gay", but it bans discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity for children under 10 or when "not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards".

It has passed through Florida’s Senate and House. To become law, it needs a signature from Rebublican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has already signalled his support.

Critics warn the bill is a step back and will stigmatise and isolate LGBTQIA+ youth. DeSantis, on the other hand, has called Disney a "woke" corporation for opposing the bill.

This @DisneyWalkout is about more than us as employees. This is about saying that TDC can't work to accumulate financial power in states like Florida and then say they are powerless to stand up for human rights of it's people.#DisneySayGay #DisneySayTrans #DisneyDoBetter pic.twitter.com/RMtkAaUnBm

— 🐝 Sam King 🎃 (@SamanthaCKing) March 22, 2022

So, what has Disney done?

After the donations made headlines, the situation wasn’t helped by Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s delayed response to the uproar.

A few days before the walkout, he apologised internally to employees, committed to rethinking political funding while also pausing all political donations in the state indefinitely.

The timing of the apology has been criticised because he only spoke out about the gender identity bill after it passed the Florida legislature.

In an open letter by Disney employees, they say the statements are not enough, and they don’t match the scale of the threat to LGBTGIA+ safety represented by the legislation.

"Primarily, those statements have indicated that leadership still does not truly understand the impact this legislation is having not only on Cast Members in the state of Florida, but on all members of the LGBTQIA+ community in the company and beyond," the letter added.

Bloomberg reports the CEO would embark on a "listening tour" with workers in an effort to ease their concerns over Disney's response to the legislation.

Several Disney companies have since released statements of support on social media, including Disney Plus, Walt Disney World, Hulu and more.

Header Image: Reuters via Twitter