Arts & Entertainment
New CEO rebuffs homophobia, doubles down on inclusion at Disney shareholder meeting
An anti-LGBTQ activist got shut down at Disney’s annual shareholder meeting by none other than the company’s new CEO himself.
Caroline Farrow, who was representing the British conservative advocacy group CitizenGo, came to the March 11 event to pressure the entertainment giant over its promotion of “LGBT ideology” in its films and television programming. It was the first shareholder meeting to be presided over by Bob Chapek, a 27-year Disney veteran who replaced former company CEO Bob Iger at the end of February.
Farrow is an outspoken anti-LGBTQ propogandist who has described rainbow lanyards as a “hostile political symbol,” written an article claiming that LGBTQ parenting “threatens to eliminate the concept of motherhood and rides roughshod over children’s needs,” and has a history of making transphobic statements – even receiving an injunction to desist her tweets about a transgender lawyer.
At the Raleigh, North Carolina meeting, she spoke up to suggest that decline in the value of the company’ stock was due to its inclusion of LGBTQ representation in its content.
Directing her remarks at Chapek, she said, “At a time when your stock is down by 20 percent, is it perhaps time to reconsider what you can do to make Disney more family friendly… and also, what would you say to those 700,000 people who signed our petition saying, please let’s not have the gay prides in the Disneyland parks?”
She added that many families “no longer feel safe” engaging with Disney over its embrace of LGBTQ characters.
Chapek didn’t take the bait.
The fledgling company chair instead doubled down on Disney’s commitment to inclusion, before countering Farrow’s analysis of the falling stock value with the more likely suggestion that the declining numbers were related to the global outbreak of COVID-19.
“At Disney we strongly believe we should reflect in our creative content the diversity that we find in our fanbase and our audience,” Chapek said. “I believe that will continue with an increased commitment as we move forward. We want to represent our audience. We believe we want to tell stories that our audience wants to hear that reflects their lives.”
“In terms of the stock price, there’s a lot of reasons why the stock price might be down 20 per cent that has nothing to do with the issue you raised,” he continued. “It might have more to do with coronavirus and the worldwide pandemic that we’re facing.”
His response was greeted with enthusiastic applause from the crowd of shareholders in attendance.
Disney has been increasing LGBTQ representation in its contents in recent years, introducing the Disney Channel’s first recurring LGBTQ storyline on the show “Andi Mack” in 2017, and featuring same-sex couples on the cartoons “Doc McStuffins” and “Star vs. The Forces of Evil.” It raised the ire of conservatives and challenged censors in foreign markets with anti-LGBTQ guidelines by including a character that was strongly implied to be LGBTQ in its live-action remake of “Beauty and the Beast,” and has included LGBTQ moments and characters in its Marvel and “Star Wars” films and shows. The current Disney/Pixar release “Onward” features an out lesbian character voiced by Lena Waithe, and there are reportedly out gay characters coming in the upcoming releases “Jungle Cruise” and Marvel’s “The Eternals.”
Conservative critics have continued to express homophobic outrage at even the slightest suggestion of LGBTQ inclusion from Disney, with anti-LGBTQ groups petitioning the company to stop hosting Pride events at their parks and a call for a boycott from the misleadingly-named One Million Moms.
Despite its efforts toward inclusion, the company has also taken fire from critics and LGBTQ advocates for lagging behind, by providing characters with LGBTQ identities that are hidden, subtle, or token and failing to embrace the fan-fueled LGBTQ identification of characters such as Elsa in “Frozen” or Finn and Poe in the rebooted “Star Wars” franchise.
Chapek’s unequivocal response to Farrow at last Wednesday’s meeting is being interpreted as a signal of the company’s commitment to more representation.
Theater
A hilarious ‘Twelfth Night’ at Folger full of ‘elegant kink’
Nonbinary actor Alyssa Keegan stars as Duke Orsino
‘Twelfth Night’
Through June 22
Folger Theatre
201 East Capitol St., S.E.
$20-$84
Folger.edu
Nonbinary actor Alyssa Keegan (they/them)loves tapping into the multitudes within.
Currently Keegan plays the melancholic Duke Orsino in Folger Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “Twelfth Night.” Director Mei Ann Teo describes the production as “sexy, hilarious, and devastating” and full of “elegant kink.”
Washington-based, Keegan enjoys a busy and celebrated career. Her vast biography includes Come From Away at Ford’s Theatre; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Helen Hayes Award, Best Actress) and Paula Vogel’s How I Learned to Drive, both at Round House Theatre; Diana Son’s Stop Kiss directedby Holly Twyford for No Rules Theatre Company; and Contractions at Studio Theatre, to name just a few.
In addition to acting, Keegan works as a polyamory and ethical non-monogamy life and relationship coach, an area of interest that grew out of personal exploration. For them, coaching seems to work hand in hand with acting.
WASHINGTON BLADE: You’re playing the lovesick Orsino in Twelfth Night. How did that come about?
ALYSSA KEEGAN: The director was looking to cast a group of actors with diverse identities; throughout auditions, there were no constraints regarding anyone’s assigned sex at birth. It was really a free for all.
BLADE: What’s your approach to the fetching, cod-piece clad nobleman?
KEEGAN: Offstage I identify as completely nonbinary; I love riding in this neutral middle space. But I also love cosplay. The ability to do that in the play gives me permission to dive completely into maleness.
So, when I made that decision to play Orsino as a bio male, suddenly the part really cracked open for me. I began looking for clues about his thoughts and opinions about things like his past relationships and his decision not to date older women.
Underneath his mask of bravura and sexuality, and his firmness of feelings, he’s quite lonely and has never really felt loved. It makes sense to me why his love for Olivia is so misguided and why he might fall in love with the Cesario/Viola character.
BLADE: As an actor, do you ever risk taking on the feelings of your characters?
KEEGAN: Prior to my mental health education, yes, and that could be toxic for me. I’ve since learned that the nervous system can’t tell the difference between real emotional distress and a that of a fully embodied character.
So, I created and share the Empowered Performer Project. [a holistic approach to performance that emphasizes the mental and emotional well-being of performing artists]. It utilizes somatic tools that help enormously when stepping into a character.
BLADE: Has changing the way you work affected your performances?
KEEGAN: I think I’m much better now. I used to have nearly debilitating stage fright. I’d spend all day dreading going onstage. I thought that was just part of the job. Now, I’ve learned to talk to my body. Prior to a performance, I can now spend my offstage time calmly gardening, working with my mental health clients, or playing with my kid. I’m just present in my life in a different way.
BLADE: Is Orsino your first time playing a male role?
KEEGAN: No. In fact, the very first time I played a male role was at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va. I played Hipolito in Thomas Middleton’s The Revenger’s Tragedy.
As Hipolito, I felt utterly male in the moment, so much so that I had audience members see me later after the show and they were surprised that I was female. They thought I was a young guy in the role. There’s something very powerful in that.
BLADE: Do you have a favorite part? Male or female?
KEEGAN: That’s tough but I think it’s Maggie the Cat. I played the hyper-female Maggie in Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Round House. In the first act she didn’t stop talking for 51 minutes opposite Gregory Wooddell as Brick who barely had to speak. That lift was probably the heaviest I’ve ever been asked to do in acting.
BLADE: What about Folger’s Twelfth Night might be especially appealing to queer audiences?
KEEGAN: First and foremost is presentation. 99% of the cast identify as queer in some way.
The approach to Shakespeare’s text is one of the most bold and playful that I have ever seen. It’s unabashedly queer. The actors are here to celebrate and be loud and colorful and to advocate. It’s a powerful production, especially to do so close to the Capitol building, and that’s not lost on any of us.
The Washington Blade hosted the inaugural WorldPride Boat Parade at The Wharf DC on Friday, June 6. NBC4’s Tommy McFly served as the emcee.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The 2025 Capital Pride Honors awards ceremony and gala reception was held at the National Building Museum on Thursday, June 5. Honorees included Cathy Renna, Jerry St. Louis, Ernest Hopkins, Lamar Braithwaite, Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Kriston Pumphrey, Gia Martinez, Kraig Williams and SMYAL. Presenters and speakers included U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Amber Ruffin, Raven-Symoné and Paul Wharton.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
South African activists demand action to stop anti-LGBTQ violence
Gay pharmacist’s murder sparks outrage in Chile
D.C. police investigating threat of shooting at WorldPride festival
Capitalism, patriarchy, and neocolonialism are repackaging the scramble for Africa
WorldPride wraps up after epic weekend of events
Japan should end abusive detention conditions for transgender people
I interviewed Biden in late 2024 and he was attentive, engaged
Delaware Gov. Meyer announces LGBTQ commission
PHOTOS: Capital Pride Honors
