Disney corporate President Karey Burke said at a recent virtual staff meeting that Generation Z is "queerer" than previous generations and that the company must "get with it" and that her previous employer was allowed to target more "open-minded" people from younger generations.
"As my son texted me this morning, Gen Z is 30-40 percent queerer than other generations," Burke said. "So Disney better get with it."
Earlier in the call, Burke explained that one of her prior employers, Freeform, a cable TV channel owned by Disney, broadcasted more LGBT-friendly programming.
"When I was at Freeform, it was very much in the brand ethos to be the tip of the spear when it comes to inclusion," she said.
"In part, I think nobody stopped us because we were targeting Gen Z and millennials. We were targeting younger and more open-minded," Burke continued.
NEW: Disney corporate president Karey Burke, the "mother of two queer children," says the company has been "targeting Gen Z and millennials" with LGBTQIA+ "inclusion" content. Her son told her that "Gen Z is 30-40% queerer" and that Disney "better get with it." pic.twitter.com/CYYD7NqKZg
— Christopher F. Rufo ?? (@realchrisrufo) April 7, 2022
Last month, Burke said in a different virtual meeting that she wants at least 50 percent of Disney's characters to be LGBTQ+ and racial minorities.
SCOOP: Disney corporate president Karey Burke says, "as the mother [of] one transgender child and one pansexual child," she supports having "many, many, many LGBTQIA characters in our stories" and wants a minimum of 50 percent of characters to be LGBTQIA and racial minorities. pic.twitter.com/oFRUiuu9JG
— Christopher F. Rufo ?? (@realchrisrufo) March 29, 2022
This comes after Disney released a statement last month condemning Florida's Parental Rights in Education bill. The legislation, dubbed by critics as the "Don't Say Gay" bill despite there being no mention of a ban on the word, was signed into law earlier this month by Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The bill prohibits educators from discussing gender identity and sexuality with children in kindergarten through third grade and limits age-inappropriate discussions of sexuality in other grades.
The legislation also allows parents to access their children's education and health records and requires schools to notify parents of changes to their child's mental, physical or emotional well-being. The bill exempts schools from disclosing information about a student to their parents if a "reasonably prudent person" would be concerned that doing so could result in abuse, abandonment or neglect.
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