Disney reinstates gay kissing scene between two female character on Pixar's ...

Disney is reportedly putting a kissing scene between two women back into their upcoming 'Toy Story' spinoff 'Lightyear' after Pixar employees accused the parent company of cutting gay characters from films.  

The dispute is the latest salvo fired by staff amid a row about the entertainment giant's stance on gay rights as politicians in Florida attempt to pass a law that's become derided as the 'Don't Say Gay' bill. 

A source told Variety that the film - which stars Chris Evans as a fictional 'real life' inspiration for the 'Toy Story' character Buzz Lightyear - features a character named Hawthorne, voiced by actress Uzo Aduba, who is in a relationship with another woman.

The relationship was apparently kept in the film but a kiss between the two characters had been allegedly cut and was restored amid the recent uproar. 

Neither Disney nor Pixar has made any public comment regarding the scene or the film, which isn't slated to premiere until June 17. 

Disney CEO Bob Chapek, who only took over in January, has been criticized for not condemning a Florida bill passed on Tuesday limiting LGBTQ discussion in schools.

In a memo to staff on Monday, Chapek tried to quell the anger, writing: 'I want to be crystal clear: I and the entire leadership team unequivocally stand in support of our LGBTQ+ employees, their families, and their communities. And, we are committed to creating a more inclusive company - and world.'

On Wednesday, he said he had called Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, to express concern about the legislation becoming law, and didn't publicly oppose the bill because it was 'more effective' to do things behind the scenes.

Yet on Thursday, Pixar staff questioned the company's claims in a letter obtained by Variety.

'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 letter states. 

'Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it.' 

The letter claims that 'nearly every moment of overtly gay affection' had been cut, despite 'protest from both the creative teams and executive leadership.' 

The Pixar staff also demanded that Disney withdraw financial support of all legislatures who supported the 'Don't Say Gay' bill and that Disney 'take a decisive public stand' against the legislation and bills like it elsewhere in the country.

Pixar is noted for only featuring a tiny number of LGBTQ characters in their films.

The most famous to date is Specter, a cyclops police officer in 2020 fantasy film Onward, voiced by Lena Waithe. 

Specter's sexuality is only briefly noted, when she says: 'It's not easy being a new parent - my girlfriend's daughter got me pulling my hair out, okay?' 

As a result, the film was banned in Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia due to the scene, and in the version released in Russia, the word 'girlfriend' was changed to 'partner.'

The same year, Pixar released a short film, Out, on Disney+, about a gay man who struggles with coming out to his parents.

Online lists curate the number of gay characters in Disney: Fans point out that the actors who voiced Bucky and Pronk Oryx-Antlerson in the 2016 animated feature film Zootopia said the characters were a gay couple, and Disney did not deny it.

They also note that Finding Dory and Toy Story 4 both featured, briefly, lesbian mothers - but their characters were so minor they were not named.

Chapek said that Disney would make donations to LGBTQ groups, but the Pixar employees said it was insufficient.