Scandal-plagued activist organization Human Rights Campaign has said “no thanks” to Disney’s offer of a donation over Florida’s new education bill falsely smeared as the “don’t say gay” bill by leftist critics.
After suffering a coordinated attack for not speaking up sufficiently to appease left-wing activists upset over Florida’s new law, Disney offered to donate to Human Rights Campaign. But on Wednesday, HRC said it would not be accepting the donation announced by Disney CEO Bob Chapek during Wednesday’s shareholder’s meeting.
Chapek had said that Disney did not really want to get mixed up with protests over the bill that prevents schools from exposing young students — from Pre-k to third grade — to radical sexual indoctrination. However, Chapek noted that Disney was “opposed to the bill from the outset” but had chosen to work “behind the scenes” with Florida lawmakers to ditch the bill.
Still, despite Chapek’s claims, Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said that the only time he ever heard from Disney about the bill was Wednesday morning before Disney’s shareholder meeting.
In his statement, DeSantis added, “Disney is a family-friendly company that creates wholesome entertainment for kids. The same Florida parents who take their families to Disney also support parental rights in education, because they do not want their young children exposed to inappropriate content about sex and gender theory at school.”
This timeline of Disney’s reply to the Florida bill is why activists mounted an astroturf social media campaign to attack Disney over its lack of interest in working to defeat the bill before it got so far in the Sunshine State’s legislature. This social media attack also seems to have spurred Disney’s attempt to donate to Human Rights Campaign.
Regardless, Disney’s big dollar offer was firmly rejected by the far-left organization.
In rejecting the donation, HRC scolded Disney in a statement saying that instead of donating money, they would rather Disney work “to ensure that dangerous proposals, like Florida’s Don’t Say Gay or Trans bill, don’t become dangerous laws, and if they do, to work to get them off the books.”
HRC went on to blast Disney for coming late to the game in opposing the Florida education law. The group said that the entertainment giant’s initial silence on the bill was “unacceptable” and insisted that the donation should have come earlier along with greater activism. “This should be the beginning of Disney’s advocacy efforts rather than the end,” HRC said.
Joni Madison, Interim President, Human Rights Campaign, wrote:
The Human Rights Campaign will not accept this money from Disney until we see them build on their public commitment and work with LGBTQ+ advocates to ensure that dangerous proposals, like Florida’s Don’t Say Gay or Trans bill, don’t become dangerous laws, and if they do, to work to get them off the books. Businesses have had and continue to have a major impact in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, from marriage equality to the defeat of House Bill 2 in North Carolina and beyond. While Disney took a regrettable stance by choosing to stay silent amid political attacks against LGBTQ+ families in Florida — including hardworking families employed by Disney — today they took a step in the right direction. But it was merely the first step.
HRC encourages Disney, and all employers, to continue to fight for their employees – many of whom bravely spoke out to say their CEO’s silence was unacceptable – and the LGBTQ+ community by working with us and state and local LGBTQ+ groups to ensure these dangerous anti-equality proposals that harm LGBTQ+ families and kids have no place in Florida. Every student deserves to be seen, and every student deserves an education that prepares them for health and success — regardless of who they are. This should be the beginning of Disney’s advocacy efforts rather than the end.
Disney has not yet responded to HRC’s rejection of its donation.
HRC has problems of its own, of course. Last September, HRC president Alphonso David was ousted from his position when it was revealed that he counseled disgraced Democrat New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to help him evade allegations of sexual assault.
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