The Walt Disney Company reportedly made a conscious effort to make Pixar’s Inside Out 2 “less gay” following the box-office failure of Lightyear, with studio executives blaming the latter movie’s much-discussed same-sex kiss for turning away audiences.
The result: Inside Out 2 was a box-office hit, bringing in more than $652 million domestically this summer.
Multiple sources told IGN that Disney leadership internally put a large part of the blame for Lightyear’s financial failure on a lesbian kiss, which was briefly removed then restored after an internal staff rebellion.
LGBTQ employees at Pixar reportedly sent a letter to Disney leadership, accusing them of censoring “overtly gay affection” at a time where employees were also protesting Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, which protects public school students from radical gender theory, including transgenderism, and other forms of LGBTQ indoctrination.
Lightyear ended by flopping badly, grossing just $118 million domestically when it was released in 2022.
Disney apparently learned its lesson, with executives reportedly taking an active role in the development of Inside Out 2.
Multiple sources told IGN tthey recall hearing about continuous notes to make Riley, the main character of both Inside Out movies, come across as “less gay,” leading to numerous edits that ramped up around September 2023 after the resolution of the Hollywood writers strike.
Sources also described rumors that there was special care put into making the relationship between Riley and Val, a supporting character introduced in Inside Out 2, seem as platonic as possible, even requiring edits to the lighting and tone of certain scenes to remove any trace of “romantic chemistry.”
One source told IGN it was like “just doing a lot of extra work to make sure that no one would potentially see them as not straight.”
Lightyear isn’t the only Disney animated movie to flop in recent years.
Disney’s Strange World, which was also released in 2022, featured a gay teen protagonist. The animated feature was an even bigger box-office bust than Lightyear, grossing just $31 million domestically.
The Walt Disney Company has come under fire in recent years for putting LGBTQ messaging in its entertainment aimed at children.
Disney fought Florida over its anti-grooming Parental Rights in Education law, created multiple transgender characters for its children’s shows, put gay characters at the center of its big-budget movies, and even launched an LGBTQ-themed apparel line.
Last year, Disney CEO Bob Iger laid off 7,000 workers worldwide as the company’s financials tanked. Disney is still laying off employees this year, including at ABC News and other TV properties.
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