Disney heir comes out as trans, condemns “Don’t Say Gay” bill
Charlee Cora Disney, 30 and one of the heirs of The Walt Disney Company, has publicly come out as trans and has condemned the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. This comes after a belated opposition from Disney themselves, whose silence during the bill was met with a wave of disapproval from both consumers and employees across the globe.
In a recent fundraising email for the Human Rights Campaign, Disney (who uses gender-neutral pronouns) spoke out about being trans and their heartbreak over the bill that Florida’s governor passed. Their father Roy P. Disney, who is Walt Disney’s grand-nephew, also spoke up about the bill. also speaking more about the bill. “Equality matters deeply to us,” Roy wrote, via Los Angeles Times, “especially because our child, Charlee, is transgender and a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community.”
During the Human Rights Campaign’s (an LGBTQ+ advocacy group) annual gala in Los Angeles last month, Disney announced that their family would match up to $250,000 in donations. Their father upped the amount to $500,00 last week, with the family hoping that this donation could be a “bridge” to demonstrate their commitment to gay and trans rights. Charlee Disney also used this annual gala to publically come out as trans, having been out privately 4 years ago.
Speaking to Los Angeles Times, Charlee lamented that they do very little to help take action against things they believe is wrong. “I feel like I don’t do very much to help. I don’t call senators or take action. I felt like I could be doing more.”
Currently, Charlee is a high school biology and environmental science teacher – putting them directly in the environment that the “Don’t Say Gay” bill is targeting with its homophobic legislation.
The narrative around the Disney company hasn’t all been rainbows and sunshine these past few weeks, however. It was revealed in early March that Disney had “donated money to every sponsor of the new, anti-gay bill, “Don’t Say Gay“”. That bill has since gone on to pass, restricting schools from educating students on sexuality and gender. Educators who ignore the bill risk being met with a lawsuit. What made it even worse was Disney’s initial silence on the law.
However, with a Disney heir publically coming out and the company finally making some moves to right their wrongs, it remains to be seen where the company will go from here.
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