HB 1557 was introduced by two Republican members of the Florida Legislature - Representative Joe Harding and Senator Dennis Baxley. 'It denies the fact that everyone, conservative or not, has a gay friend or a transgender family member.' 'There have been gay people whether or not the word was ever spoken,' she told CNN. She said the attacks from right-wing critics were 'absurd'. Last month, she responded to criticism of the family firm for its move to be more inclusive and create more LGBTQ characters. At one point, she labelled Walt Disney as a racist anti-semite. Disney, Walt Disney's brother's granddaughter, Abigail Disney, 62.Ībigail Disney has even gone so far as to criticize her family's business practices and their treatment of staff. The most outspoken member of the family has been Roy O.
'I didn't see myself reflected in anyone, and that made me feel like there was something wrong with me.' 'I had very few openly gay role models,' said Charlee, whose mother remembers Charlee aged two or three tugging her away from the little girls' shoe section, saying: 'But mom, I'm a boy on the inside.'Ĭharlee added: 'And I certainly didn't have any trans or nonbinary role models. I felt like I could be doing more.'Ĭharlee said the new bill would isolate young people and make them feel uncomfortable in their own skin. 'I feel like I don't do very much to help,' Charlee said. Last week they announced a grant matching donations to LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights CampaignĬharlee said that they were dismayed at the bill, signed into law on March 28, and wished they had done more at the time to campaign against it. Disney, grandson of the company's founder, and his wife Sheri Disney are pictured in October 2013. 'Equality matters deeply to us, especially because our child, Charlee, is transgender and a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community,' he wrote in a statement.Ĭharlee told The Los Angeles Times, said that they were dismayed at Florida governor Ron DeSantis's signing of the controversial 'Don't Say Gay' bill, which forbids the discussion of homosexuality or transgender issues in classrooms for children through third grade. Roy and his wife Sheri announced that they would match donations Disney made to the Republican Party to the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ advocacy group in the country, up to $500,000. Laws similar to the one in Florida are also being considered in Alabama, Ohio, Louisiana, Texas, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee. He said that he is 'heartbroken' by the 'Don't Say Gay' bill. Disney said in April 2022 that his stepdaughter Charlee Corra is transgender. In 2021, the Disney corporation raked in nearly $22 billion in revenue.Īlthough the family has no control of the company's decisions, Korkis told the Post that it was Walt Disney's goal to keep his family away from running the business. Disney, Walt Disney's grand nephew, the family still owns around three percent of the company. Pictured are Disney's wife, Lillian Bounds and their daughter, Diane and her familyĪccording to Roy P. Walt Disney relaxing on a hammock with his family and their pet dog, California. 'They have always been extremely private. 'In general, the whole family is very conservative and they keep to themselves Korkis told The Post.
Disney - whose stepdaughter is transgender - have been openly critical of the bill, but their views don't appear to be mirrored by some family members. Some members of the Disney family, like Abigail Disney and her brother Roy P. But, days later, the company public said it opposed the bill following internal pressure from workers and the public. When the bill first passed in March 2022, Disney CEO Bob Chapek was initially silent. This comes as the Disney corporation clashes with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over the bill that is officially known as Parental Rights in Education. The bill, which will become law from July 1, bans formal lessons on gender identity for children from kindergarten through to third grade. Historian Jim Korkis described the family, which still owns a 3 percent stake in the company, as 'very conservative' and 'private,' in an interview with the New York Post. A Disney historian has come forward to dismiss the idea that the famous family are united against Florida's controversial 'Don't Say Gay' bill.