“Welcome to ALL who come to this happy place,” Disney Parks posted on Instagram Tuesday morning, echoing the words of Walt Disney during his dedication speech on Disneyland’s opening day in 1955. “Disney Parks, experiences and products are dedicated to creating dedicated experiences that support family values for each family and do not constitute discrimination in any form.”
The post, which included a photo of rainbow-colored Mickey Mouse ears, said the unit “opposes any legislation that violates basic human rights and stands in solidarity and support of our LGBTQIA+ cast, crew and Imagineers and fans making their voices heard.” today and every day.”
The endorsement of some of Disney’s key brands shows the extent to which the company has ramped up its opposition to Florida’s controversial educational parental rights law, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics.
And it’s a staggering change from the company’s initial public response.
Earlier this month, Disney CEO Bob Chapek spoke about the bill in a note to employees, but declined to publicly condemn it directly. Instead, Chapek said Disney’s continued telling of “different stories” is a more appropriate response to legislation that bans teachers from discussing LGBTQ+ issues with children in third grade and under. Chapek’s testimony caused a furore inside and outside Disney, forcing the CEO to apologize for his lukewarm response and prompting organized strikes by Disney employees. Disney employs 75,000 people in Florida. Another notable Disney brand, ESPN, too showed solidarity with a Twitter thread on the subject Tuesday morning.
“ESPN believes in inclusion and denounces laws and actions in the United States that violate human rights. We stand by our LGBTQIA+ colleagues, friends, families and fans,” the report said. “We will continue to work with organizations that support the LGBTQIA+ community, be held accountable when we fall short of expectations, and never stop telling stories about LGBTQIA+ athletes.”
the official Twitter account for Disney+ The streaming service added that it “stands by our LGBTQIA+ employees, colleagues, families, storytellers and fans.”
“We strongly condemn all laws that violate the basic human rights of people in the LGBTQIA+ community – particularly laws that target and harm young people and their families,” the tweet said.
Disney+ added that it strives to create a service that “reflects the world we live in.”
“Our hope is to be a source of inclusive, empowering, and authentic stories that unite us in our shared humanity,” it says.
These are not the first such statements made online by Company entities. Marvel Studios and pixar took to social media after the initial backlash to express their support for LGBTQ+ rights, saying they stand by the community.
As for the parent company itself, Disney hosted an online meeting with all of its entities on the subject on Monday.
“This morning we had a virtual company-wide conversation about anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and Disney’s response to it,” the company told CNN on Monday. “We recognize how important this issue is to our LGBTQ+ employees, their families and allies, we respect our colleagues’ right to speak their minds, and we are committed to continually supporting the LGBTQ+ community in the fight for equality.”
CNN’s Leyla Santiago and Gregory Lemos contributed to this report.
CNN’s Leyla Santiago and Gregory Lemos contributed to this report.