Moon Knight Actor Oscar Isaac Channels Mark Hamill In Response To Florida’s Anti-Grooming Bill
John F. Trent
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Moon Knight actor Oscar Isaac, who plays the titular character in the upcoming Disney+ series, recently responded to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill.
Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant in Marvel Studios’ MOON KNIGHT. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
The bill has been dubbed an anti-grooming bill by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ press secretary Christina Pushaw.
She tweeted at the beginning of the month, “The bill that liberals inaccurately call ‘Don’t Say Gay’ would be more accurately described as an Anti-Grooming Bill.”
Source: Christina Pushaw Twitter
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The bill, HB 1577, states in part, “classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”
The bill also prevents school districts from adopting “procedures or student support forms that prohibit school district personnel from notifying a parent about his or her student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being, or a change in a related services or monitoring, or that encourage or have the effect of encouraging a student to withhold from a parent such information.”
Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant/Marc Spector in Marvel Studios’ MOON KNIGHT. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
The bill also requires “each school district [to] notify parents of each healthcare service offered at their student’s school and the option to withhold consent or decline any specific service.”
Parents must also be notified of any well-being questionnaire or health screening form provided to students in kindergarten through third grade. The parents must be given the questionnaire or health screening form and approve of it before the school can administer it to the students.
If any of these provisions are violated, the bill provides a method of redress for parents beginning with the school district and escalating to a full blown lawsuit.
Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant in Marvel Studios’ MOON KNIGHT. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
At a virtual press junket to promote Moon Knight, Oscar Isaac responded to the bill with Variety reporting he said, “I guess my comment would be [starts singing] gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gayyyyyy!”
He added, “Yeah, it’s an absolutely ridiculous law. It’s insane. It’s insanity. And I hope that Disney as a company comes out as forcefully as possible against this idea.”
“It’s astounding that it even exists in this country,” he concluded.
Oscar Isaac as Moon Knight in Marvel Studios’ MOON KNIGHT. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
This response is similar to one offered by Star Wars icon Mark Hamill.
Hamill tweeted the word “gay” 69 times and then included a rainbow flag emoji, a symbol that originally represented God’s covenant with Noah, but is now being used by the LGBTQ+ movement.
Source: Mark Hamill, Twitter
As for Disney’s response, the company originally claimed they would not be taking a public stance on the bill with the company’s CEO Bob Chapek explaining in a company-wide email, “I also believe you deserve an explanation for why we have not issued a statement. We are going to have a more fulsome conversation about this at the company- wide Reimagine Tomorrow Summit in April, but I will preview that discussion now as it is so timely.”
He continued, “As we have seen time and again, corporate statements do very little to change outcomes or minds. Instead, they are often weaponized by one side or the other to further divide and inflame. Simply put, they can be counterproductive and undermine more effective ways to achieve change.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 29: (L-R) Chairman of Disney Studios Content Alan Bergman, Producer, President of Marvel Studios and Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Kevin Feige, and CEO of The Walt Disney Company Bob Chapek attend the Black Widow World Premiere Fan Event at Dolby Theatre on June 29, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
Later in his email he said, “I firmly believe that our ability to tell such stories-and have them received with open eyes, ears, and hearts -would be diminished if our company were to become a political football in any debate.”
“Powerful content that changes hearts and minds only springs from inclusive cultures, which not only attract and retain the best and most diverse talent, but also give those employees the freedom to bring forth ideas that reflect their lives and experiences. We must work together to ensure Disney always remains such a place,” he added.
Source: Investor Day 2020
However, Chapek would later reveal this posturing was a complete and utter lie as he revealed at the company’s annual shareholder meeting that he and Disney had actually been lobbying against the bill from the very beginning.
Chapek told Disney shareholders, “While we’ve been strong supporters of the community for decades I know many are upset that we did not speak out against the bill. Now, we were opposed to the bill from the outset, but we chose not to take a public position on it because we thought we could be more effective working behind the scenes, engaging directly with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.”
“And we were hopeful that our long-standing relationships with those lawmakers would enable us to achieve a better outcome, but despite weeks of effort we were ultimately unsuccessful,” he admitted.
Source: The Walt Disney Company’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders 2022
Following these comments, Chapek sent another email to Disney employees. In this email, Chapek apologized to LGBTQ employees writing, “It is clear that this is not just an issue about a bill in Florida, but instead yet another challenge to basic human rights. You needed me to be a stronger ally in the fight for equal rights and I let you down. I am sorry.”
Chapek then declared, “We are increasing our support for advocacy groups to combat similar legislation in other states. We are hard at work creating a new framework for our political giving that will ensure our advocacy better reflects our values. And today, we are pausing all political donations in the state of Florida pending this review.”
He concluded the email asserting, “I truly believe we are an infinitely better and stronger company because of our LGBTQ+ community. I missed the mark in this case but am an ally you can count on —and I will be an outspoken champion for the protections, visibility, and opportunity you deserve.”
Source: Bloomberg Markets and Finance YouTube
The company then appeared to endorse dozens of their employees walking out of their jobs on March 22nd with numerous of the company’s official Twitter handles making statements opposing the Anti-Grooming bill in Florida.
As an example, Disney+ tweeted, “Disney+ stands by our LGBTQIA+ employees, colleagues, families, storytellers, and fans, and we strongly denounce all legislation that infringes on the basic human rights of people in the LGBTQIA+ community – especially legislation that targets and harms young people and their families.”
“We strive to create a service that reflects the world in which we live, and our hope is to be a source for inclusive, empowering, and authentic stories that unite us in our shared humanity,” the statement concluded.
Source: Disney+ Twitter
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The company also allegedly put in a gay relationship into their upcoming Lightyear film.
The relationship had reportedly been cut, but following Chapek and Disney’s revelation that they were fully on board against the Anti-Grooming bill, the disordered relationship was restored.
Source: Lightyear
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