Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) weighed in on the controversy surrounding Disney’s upcoming animated film Lightyear, complaining about “lesbian toys” in the movie.
On a recent episode of his podcast The Verdict, the Texas Republican decried the inclusion of “lesbian toys” in the Toy Story spin-off.
Related: Chris Evans says it’s “great” that Pixar is keeping Lightyear’s same-sex kiss as 14 countries ban it
Noting that the film has already been banned from 14 countries and may also be banned from theaters in China, Cruz said: “It’s a wild twist where Hollywood has been willing to grovel to China, to let China censor its movies, to embrace anti-Americanism, to avoid any criticism of China because they want to get access to the Chinese movie market, but when it comes to their culture agenda, apparently now suddenly they’ve discovered, ‘Alright, give up the money because lesbian toys are more important.’”
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Sen Ted Cruz complains about "lesbian toys" in the Buzz Lightyear movie: "Most toys are, kinda, androgynous. They're usually without genitalia" pic.twitter.com/IPeNrtL1G5
— Jason S. Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) June 17, 2022
Cruz was referring to news that Disney has refused remove a scene from Lightyear that reportedly shows the character Hawthorne (voiced by Uzo Aduba) sharing a brief kiss with her wife. (Contrary to Cruz’s assertion, the characters are not toys.)
The studio had previously cut the scene but restored it after LGBTQ Pixar employees and allies sent a letter to the Walt Disney Company criticizing its censorship of “overtly gay affection” in its films. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Lebanon are among the countries that have banned the film due to the scene.
“We’re not going to cut out anything, especially something as important as the loving and inspirational relationship that shows Buzz what he’s missing by the choices that he’s making, so that’s not getting cut,” Lightyear producer Galyn Susman said at the movie’s London premiere.
Cruz implied that the scene confirmed his previous assertion that Disney would soon “have Mickey and Pluto going at it.” That bizarre comment came in response to the studio’s opposition to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Cruz also suggested that Disney should air such content only on Cinemax, a network that the entertainment giant does not own.
The ultra-conservative senator’s latest comments included a similarly strange observation: “The last time I checked, most toys are kind of androgynous. They’re usually without genitalia.”
