Marvel Studio’s Victoria Alonso and Disney boss, Bob Chapek, have reportedly spoken following Disney’s poor response to anti-LGBTQ+ legislation hitting the US.
On Saturday (2 April), Alonso disclosed the sentiments of her conversation with the Chapek as she accepted a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film for Eternals in Los Angeles.
The Marvel executive spoke to the LGBTQ+ community and, more widely, called for a “stand” to be taken against “crazy outdated laws”, Deadline reports.
“If you are a member of the LGBTQIA community and you work at the Walt Disney Company, the last two or three weeks have been a sad event. I’ve asked Mr. Chapek for courage in a 45-minute sit-down,” Alonso said, standing next to Eternals director Chloe Zhao and Marvel producer Nate Moore.
She continued: “I asked him to look around and truly if what we sell is entertainment for the family, we don’t choose what family. Family is this entire room. Family is the family in Texas, in Arizona, in Florida, and in my family, in my home. So I ask you again Mr. Chapek: please respect—if we’re selling family—take a stand against all of these crazy outdated laws.
“Take a stand for family. Stop saying that you tolerate us—nobody tolerates me, let me tell you that. You tolerate the heat in Florida, the humidity in Arizona or Florida, and the dryness in Arizona and Texas. And you tolerate a tantrum in a two-year-old. But you don’t tolerate us. We deserve the right to live, love, and have. More importantly, we deserve an origin story.”
Alonso also made a promise to listeners and the LGBTQ+ community: “As long as I am at Marvel Studios, I will fight for representation.”
The ‘Don’t Say Gay‘ bill is formally labelled the Parental Rights in Education bill. In
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Bob Chapek
Chloe Zhao