Despite claiming to be doing so on the behalf of team members such as himself, Disney’s recent vow to fight for Florida’s newly-passed Parental Rights in Education law to “be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts” has been condemned by one of their own gay employees.
Writing under his real name, Walt Disney World Merchandise Presentation Specialist Gary Lucia – whose LinkedIn profile shows him ‘liking’ a number of recent posts by others speaking out against Disney’s activism – took to Substack on March 30th to publish a lengthy essay declaring, “I Am a Gay Employee at Walt Disney World. Disney Does Not Speak For Me.”
Beginning with a reflection on his own struggles growing up as a gay individual, Lucia admits that he “can understand why many of my fellow gay cast members were upset when they heard that the Florida government had voted for the ‘Don’t Say Gay Bill’,” speculating that “they looked back on their own childhoods and wondered how things would have been different if someone had told them it was OK to be gay. Or maybe some of them came out as gay in their teens, resulting in them being abused or even thrown out of the house by their parents.”
“These are sad stories and I empathize with the emotions involved, so I understand why there was a visceral reaction to hearing that Florida was enacting a bill that stopped teachers from saying the word ‘gay’,” he continued. “Except for one thing: it is not true.”
“As most people hopefully know by now, the...
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