Arts & Entertainment
GLAAD calls out Disney, Paramount for lack of LGBT characters
organization urges for inclusion in movies like ‘Star Wars’
(‘Get Hard’ Screenshot via YouTube)
GLAAD released its fourth annual Studio Responsibility Index and reports studios, including Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros., are failing to include LGBT characters.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, in 2015 all studios included LGBT characters in less than 40% of their films. Lionsgate earned 33%, Sony 19%, Universal 19% and Fox came in at 15%, giving these studios an “Adequate” mark. Warner Bros. came in at 20% with Disney and Paramount not including any LGBT characters at all. Those numbers gave the three studios a “Failing” grade.
Disney distributes films for Marvel and LucasFilms and GLAAD believes the studio should include LGBT characters in films such as “Star Wars.”
“As sci-fi projects have the special opportunity to create unique worlds whose advanced societies can serve as a commentary on our own, the most obvious place where Disney could include LGBT characters is in the upcoming eighth ‘Star Wars film,'” GLAAD states in the report.
“2015’s ‘The Force Awakens’ has introduced a new and diverse central trio, which allows the creators opportunity to tell fresh stories as they develop their backstory. Recent official novels in the franchise featured lesbian and gay characters that could also be easily written in to the story,” GLAAD continued.
GLAAD also points out an alarming trend in “a noticeable resurgence of outright offensive depictions of LGBT, which relied on gay panic and defamatory stereotypes for cheap laughs.” Specifically the report mentions “Get Hard” starring Kevin Hart and Will Ferrell for “more blatant and incessant gay panic humor than we have seen in a Hollywood film in years.” “The Wedding Ringer” also starring Hart, and “Hot Tub Time Machine 2” were also mentioned for their gay panic humor.
Indie film distributors faired better with Universal’s Focus Features, a distributor of “The Danish Girl,” coming in at 30%, Sony Pictures Classics scoring 28% and Roadside Attractions earning 20%. Fox Searchlight received a failing grade for including no LGBT characters in its 2015 releases.
“Hollywood’s films lag far behind any other form of media when it comes to portrayals of LGBT characters,” Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD president and CEO said in a statement. “Too often, the few LGBT characters that make it to the big screen are the target of a punchline or token characters. The film industry must embrace new and inclusive stories if it wants to remain competitive and relevant.”
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PHOTOS: Fredericksburg Pride March and Festival
LGBTQ celebration held in historic Virginia town
The sixth annual Fredericksburg Pride March was held in downtown Fredericksburg, Va. on Saturday, June 27. Stafford County Board of Supervisors Chair Deuntay Diggs led the march alongside Fredericksburg City Council Member Jannan W. Holmes. The Fredericksburg Pride Festival took place at Riverfront Park after the march. Bree Fram was the featured speaker.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.
Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”
Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.
FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”
Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.
“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”
“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.
“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.
The second annual Frederick Pride Parade was held in the streets of downtown Frederick, Md. on Friday, June 26.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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