Josh Gad, James Gunn and More React to Disney World Anti-Wokeness Op-Ed
The Orlando Sentinel published an op-ed on Friday by a loyal Disney fan that condemned the evolving “wokeness” of Disney World. His claims were met with ridicule from people across the entertainment industry.
“I love the Orlando Sentinel, but racist ‘journalism’ is ruining the experience,” “Frozen” actor and frequent Disney employee Josh Gad tweeted.
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The guest author of the piece, Jonathan VanBoskerck, is a chief deputy district attorney in Clark County, Nevada; he also disclosed that he is a Christian and conservative Republican. As someone who would have to journey across the country to visit the theme park, VanBoskerck explained that “Disney World is going to lose us as customers if it continues down this path.”
His umbrage was fueled by the changes to the Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain rides, which have been implemented to remove the bigoted elements of the attractions. VanBoskerck also voiced his displeasure with Disney World’s allowance of cast members to don inclusive hairstyles and display tattoos.
“The parks are less fun because immersion and thus the joy is taking a back seat to politics,” he wrote. “Disney, please return to the values and vision of Walt. The customer experience should be the core of your business model. Immersion should not be sacrificed on the altar of political correctness and appeasing the Twitter mob.”
Another frequent Disney employee, “Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn, laid out his view of the op-ed.
“The ‘wokeness’, specifically, is seeing cast members tattoos & removing a character named ‘Trader Sam’ from Jungle Cruise,” he wrote on Twitter. “A grown man sees these things (or doesn’t see them) & gets all worked up & the experience is “ruined” for him. Somehow he doesn’t see this as HIS problem.”
See below for more reactions from Patton Oswalt, Franklin Leonard and more.
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