'Lightyear' star: Critics of film's same-sex kiss are 'idiots' destined to 'die off like dinosaurs'
An actor starring in Disney Pixar's animated film “Lightyear” ridiculed those who are outraged over its inclusion of a same-sex kiss as “idiots” who are poised to “die off like dinosaurs.”
Earlier this year, Variety reported that the film “Lightyear,” scheduled for release in theaters Friday, would feature a female character who was in a relationship with another woman as well as a same-sex kiss between the two. While the scene was initially deleted from the film, outrage from LGBT-identified employees at Walt Disney Co. prompted the restoration of the same-sex kiss in the final cut.
Actor Chris Evans, who plays the titular character Buzz Lightyear in “Lightyear,” responded to a question from a Reuters reporter asking him to address the “pushback” surrounding the effort to increase “representation or diversity” in the film in a June 9 interview published on YouTube Wednesday.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
“The real truth is those people are idiots,” he said.
After describing “the human story” as “one of constant social awakening and growth,” Evans remarked that “when that happens, there’s always going to be people who are afraid and unaware and trying to hold on to what was before.”
The actor suggested that “those people die off like dinosaurs,” adding, “the goal is to pay them no mind” and “march forward and embrace the growth that makes us human.”
Keke Palmer, the actress who plays the LGBT character in “Lightyear,” replied to the same question by urging critics of the same-sex kiss scene to “refurbish your idea of tradition” and “understand that it’s ... to infinity and beyond” now, referring to the character of Buzz Lightyear’s signature catchphrase.
The actress insisted that “it’s time to move forward” and “enjoy all the faces that have always been there.”
The 1995 animated film “Toy Story” first introduced the character of Buzz Lightyear to the world. Comedian Tim Allen of “Home Improvement” fame provided the voice of Lightyear in all of the films comprising the “Toy Story” franchise, but Allen is replaced by Evans in “Lightyear.”
Allen, an outspoken conservative, recently joked about the explosion in the number of young Americans who identify as LGBT. He stated on Twitter that he “took some kids to Disneyland and overheard a 13-year-old boy wondering if he may be pansexual since he loves skillets.”
Took some kids to Disneyland and overheard a 13 year old boy wondering if he may be pansexual since he loves skillets.
— Tim Allen (@ofctimallen) June 14, 2022
Actress Patricia Heaton, who starred on the sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond,” took to Twitter Tuesday to voice her displeasure with Disney Pixar for replacing Allen with Evans.
“Saw the trailer for Buzz Lightyear and all I can say is Disney/Pixar made a HUGE MISTAKE in not casting my pal Tim Allen in the role that he originated, the role that he owns. Tim IS Buzz! Why would they completely castrate this iconic, beloved character?”
Saw the trailer for Buzz Lightyear and all I can say is Disney/Pixar made a HUGE mistake in not casting my pal @ofctimallen Tim Allen in the role that he originated, the role that he owns. Tim IS Buzz! Why would they completely castrate this iconic, beloved character?
— Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) June 14, 2022
“Lightyear” is not the first Disney Pixar production to feature an LGBT character. In 2020, the film “Onward” had a lesbian heroine who was in a relationship with another female character.
The controversy surrounding “Lightyear” and the introduction of LGBT characters in other programming geared toward children come as the Walt Disney Co. finds itself in the middle of a political battle with the Florida state government over House Bill 1557, a Parental Rights in Education Bill that critics have labeled the “Don’t Say Gay Bill.”
The bill restricts school officials from discussing matters related to sexual orientation and gender identity with students in kindergarten through third grade.
Video footage obtained by Christopher Rufo of the Manhattan Institute shows a Disney staffer admitting to “adding queerness” to children’s programming “wherever I could” because “no one would stop me” and “no one was trying to stop me.”
The footage of the company’s “all-hands meeting about the Florida parental rights bill,” also documented efforts to ensure that “canonical trans characters, canonical asexual characters, [and] canonical bisexual characters” have “stories where they can … be their whole selves.”
After Disney leadership first spoke out against House Bill 1557 and vowed to prevent the passage of similar bills in other states, Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis approved a bill passed by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature that will abolish the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the “independent special district” containing the Walt Disney World theme park that enables it to operate as a self-governing entity.
In addition to Florida lawmakers, Disney’s opposition to House Bill 1557 as well as its use of children’s programming to advance the LGBT agenda has also drawn the ire of religious leaders.
Worship leader Sean Feucht held a protest outside the Disney Studio Lot in Burbank, California, calling for “every wall of perversion to come down in Jesus’ name.” Attendees at the demonstration encouraged Christians and American parents to “boycott Disney.”
Feucht indicated that he planned on holding similar rallies at Walt Disney World as well as the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim. The Rev. Franklin Graham of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse lamented the embrace of LGBT activism at Walt Disney Co. as a “moral failure,” recalling how “Walt Disney had a vision for wholesome family entertainment” and was “committed to the family.”
Graham contrasted the vision of the company with “the morals of the corporate leadership of Disney today,” which he maintained are “in the gutter,” adding: “They want to redefine family counter to God’s original design and flaunt sin.”
A poll conducted by the Trafalgar Group in April revealed that 70% of Americans considered themselves less likely to do business with Disney after learning that the company is “creating content to expose young children to sexual ideas.”
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
