GLAAD is stepping up pressure to impose its political agenda on Hollywood, announcing it will start grading studios based on their LGBTQ advocacy. The group will use a range of criteria that includes donations to politicians whom GLAAD deems to be “anti-LGBTQ.”
The new grading system will be included in the group’s annual Studio Responsibility Index, which will be released in summer 2022. GLAAD said it will also consider actions by the studios’ parent companies in their grading methodology.
“Corporations need to be held accountable for their silence on anti-LGBTQ bills in states where they do business,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, in a tweet announcing the initiative.
The studios that GLAAD will grade are: Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, STX Films, United Artists Releasing, Universal Pictures, The Walt Disney Studios, and Warner Bros.
The group has condemned Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, falsely claiming it will “bar discussion of LGBTQ people from Florida classrooms.” In actuality, the bill will forbid discussion of sexuality as well as transgenderism for kids in kindergarten to third grade.
GLAAD’s pressure campaign comes as Disney recently caved to left-wing activist demands concerning the Florida bill. Disney CEO Bob Chapek initially resisted calls for the company speak out against the legislation. But a growing tide of negative coverage from the mainstream media prompted Chapek to fold and publicly condemn the bill.
In its announcement, GLAAD didn’t say what qualifies a politician or legislation as “anti-LGBTQ.” In recent years, the group has put increasing focus on transgender issues and has condemned Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling for her belief that gender is based in biology.
As part of its announcement this week, GLAAD’s Sarah Kate Ellis offered a longer statement explaining why the group is launching its new studio grading system.
“No company that chooses silence over allyship should receive high scores from LGBTQ organizations while nearly 200 anti-LGBTQ bills advance in states around the country, often targeting transgender youth. Corporations need to be held accountable for funding politicians that harm LGBTQ people, including their own employees, and for inaction on legislation that they can help defeat. Today GLAAD moves this forward in the entertainment industry and GLAAD will be leading efforts to create similar accountability across industries. LGBTQ inclusion is not just what happens on screen. The Walt Disney Company and other media companies need to take immediate action in Florida and other states. Entertainment and media companies cannot profit from our stories and stay silent on laws that discriminate against us.”
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