6 Gay Moments Deleted From Disney-Owned Films

Disney needs to put its money where its mouth is.

With Disney under fire for reportedly donating to politicians who have supported Florida's Don't Say Gay bill, fans, as well as employees, are looking at the company to take a stand against LGBTQ+ discriminatory practices. CEO Bob Chapek tried to quell the outrage with a memo that stated the “biggest impact” the company can make “in creating a more inclusive world is through the inspiring content we produce.”

Pixar employees clapped back. “LGBTQIA+ employees of Pixar and their allies” have released a statement alleging that over the years, Disney has cut “nearly every moment of overtly gay affection...regardless of when there is protest from both the creative teams and executive leadership at Pixar.”

The most explicit LGBTQ+ character in a Pixar film so far has been in Onward, where a minor cop character casually mentions her girlfriend. 

“We at Pixar have personally witnessed beautiful stories, full of diverse characters, come back from Disney corporate reviews shaved down to crumbs of what they once were,” the employee statement reads. “Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it.”

Names haven't been named, but here are the few cut moments from Disney-owned films, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that we know about.

Luca

While many fans believed Luca and Alberto's relationship might've evolved into a romance, unnamed Pixar sources say they actually wanted Giulia to be gay but "they couldn't figure out how to include her character's sexuality in the film without giving her a love interest." Apparently that's a common problem over at Pixar, who would anticipate Disney's cuts and self-edit before submitting their movies. 

Lightyear

Disney's upcoming Toy Story prequel reportedly never hides that the main female character Hawthorne is in a relationship with a woman. But after this controversy, sources say Disney has restored a scene that was originally cut from the film; a kiss between Hawthorne and another female character. 

Black Panther

In an earlier version of the superhero film, Okoye and Ayo have a brief flirtation, confirming that they have romantic feelings for one another like the characters do in the comics. It seems that idea was scrapped to make room for other storylines. According to ScreenCrush, "Marvel quickly denied any romantic plot between Gurira and Kasumba’s characters, and the scene in question never made it into the final film."

Nimona

Disney recently bought Blue Sky Studios, the production company responsible for Ice Age and Robots. Their movie adaption of Nimona, a webcomic from the mind of nonbinary trans creator ND Stevenson, was slated for release this January and featured a kiss between Ballister Blackheart and his boyfriend, Ambrosius Goldenloin.

According to The Mary Sue, Disney representatives "expressed 'concern' over multiple queer elements in the story." There was then a half-hearted attempt to "present a version of the film without the queer kiss included, with Blue Sky staff planning to then sneak the kiss into the final cut of the film." Blue Sky showed a rough cut of the film, kiss included, to Disney. The studio was shut down shortly after.

Turning Red

With the flurry of new information aligning with the release of Disney Pixar's latest film Turning Red, sharp-eyed viewers are searching for a hint of LGBTQ+ content. Though this has not been confirmed by the studio or creators, fans believe Priya has a queer moment that might've been toned down and are calling for Disney to release the "gay cut."

Thor: Ragnarok

Valkyrie is bisexual in the comics and actor Tessa Thompson took it upon herself to add that representation to the film. She convinced director Taika Watiti to shoot a small scene showing a woman walking out of Valkyrie's bedroom. Waititi kept the scene in the movie for "as long as he could" but it was eventually cut from the final version of the film "because it distracted from the scene's vital exposition."

There's another moment in Thor Ragnarok where Valkyrie's warrior clan is murdered, and Thompson acted on her own bisexual characterization. "There's a great shot of me falling back from one of my sisters who's just been slain. In my mind, that was my lover."

Thompson's intent is admirable, but it's ultimately up to Marvel to give LGBT fans the representation they crave.