Candace Owens, the Daily Wire’s conservative commentator, is leading calls to boycott the Walt Disney Co. over her opposition to the “Don’t Say Gay” law signed into law by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this week.
Owens called Disney “nanny” and “paedophile” in a tweet on Thursday. She released the provocative message in response to Disney’s criticism of the new law, which the company has vowed to fight.
The law, which bans teachers from discussing LGBTQ issues such as sexual orientation or gender identity with students unless they are in fourth grade or above, has been widely lambasted as homophobic and transphobic.
“You have now openly admitted that you have a not-so-secret agenda with your children,” Owens tweeted. “This is the death of Disney.” She added the hashtag #BoycottDisney.
Conservatives were furious with Disney after a producer told staff she had been pushing a “not at all secret gay agenda” for children’s entertainment.
Owens’ company, which is run by Ben Shapiro, announced earlier this week that it will invest $100 million in children’s content as part of a plan to create an alternative to “woke” Disney.
“Americans are tired of giving their money to bright corporations they hate,” said Jeremy Boreing, Daily Wire co-CEO.
“They’re tired of giving their money to wacky media companies that want to indoctrinate their kids with radical race and gender theories.”
“But they want to do more than just cancel them. They want alternatives.”
Boreing added, “The Daily Wire gives you these alternatives.”
Owens lashed out at Disney after the company opposed the new “Don’t Say Gay” legislation signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.Photo only via Getty Images
Boreing told Daily Wire staff that the company “will invest at least $100 million over the next three years in a range of live-action and animated children’s entertainment on its streaming platform.”
Daily Wire subscribers will have access to the content beginning next spring, Boreing said.
Last week, Shapiro said his company plans to take on Disney and other major content distributors who are “held hostage by the Awakened because they’re cowards.”
Daily Wire co-founder Jeremy Boreing announced earlier this week that the company will invest $100 million over the next three years to create children’s content to compete with Disney.Twitter/@JeremyDBoreing
“If you want entertainment that caters to your kids, we’re going to start creating content specifically for kids here at Daily Wire,” Shapiro said on his podcast Tuesday.
“So you don’t have to be served by companies that hate your courage and don’t care about the people who despise your values.”
Launched in 2015, the Daily Wire was founded by Shapiro and Boreing. It has since grown into a company employing 115 full-time staff thanks to its right-wing podcasts and website.
Disney employees staged a strike and other protests after management initially hesitated to take a stand against the legislation. Getty Images
In recent months, the company has announced plans to create original content like movies and series, hoping to compete with Netflix and other mainstream media companies.
DeSantis also denounced Disney on Friday, saying his administration will consider removing its special status as a quasi-governing entity.