Snoop Dogg is speaking out after receiving backlash for his comments on LGBTQIA+ characters in children’s movies.
The rapper, 53, shared his thoughts on a scene in the 2022 Disney/Pixar film Lightyear during a recent episode of the “It’s Giving” podcast, saying that a moment between Alisha Hawthorne (voiced by Uzo Aduba) and her wife “threw [him] for a loop” and made him “scared to go to the movies.” (The couple share a kiss and go on to welcome a baby in a montage during the Toy Story spinoff.)
His comments weren’t well-received, with followers and Lightyear screenwriter Lauren Gunderson defending the story line via Instagram.
“I was just caught off guard and had no answer for my grandsons,” Snoop commented via Instagram on a Wednesday, August 27, “Hollywood Unlocked” clip of TV personality T.S. Madison calling him out on TMZ Live. “All my gay friends [know] what’s up, they been calling me with love. My bad for not knowing the answers for a 6-yr-old. Teach me how to learn. I’m not perfect.”
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Madison, 47, questioned why Snoop was OK with showing “women dancing and kissing other women, dancing naked” in his music videos, but not supportive of a sweet scene between women in Lightyear. She went on to claim his comments were “rooted in a little bit of homophobia.”
Snoop, who is a grandfather of seven, initially told “It’s Giving” hosts that he wasn’t ready to have a conversation with his young grandson when he asked, “Papa Snoop, how did she have a baby with a woman?”
“Y’all throwing me in the middle of s*** that I don’t have an answer for,” he said, continuing, “These are kids. We have to show that at this age? They’re going to ask questions. I don’t have the answer.”
The segment from the podcast interview has since been removed.
Writer Gunderson spoke out about Snoop’s comments earlier this week, confirming, “I created the LIGHTYEAR lesbians.”
“In 2018, I was a writer at Pixar – such a cool place, grateful to work there, learned a ton from kind and impressive creatives,” Gunderson continued. “As we wrote early versions of what became LIGHTYEAR, a key character needed a partner, and it was so natural to write ‘she’ instead of ‘he.’ As small as that detail is in the film, I knew the representational effect it could have. Small line, big deal. I was elated that they kept it. I’m proud of it. To infinity. Love is love.”
When Lightyear first premiered, the inclusion of the LGBTQIA+ character caused controversy among some viewers and the scene was removed at one point. Disney quickly faced backlash for the cut, and the scene was subsequently reinstated.
Chris Evans, who voiced Buzz Lightyear in the film, defended the story line at the time.
“It’s nice, and it’s wonderful, it makes me happy [to have such inclusion],” he told Variety of the controversy in June 2022. “[But] it’s tough to not be a little frustrated that it even has to be a topic of discussion. That it is this kind of ‘news.’”
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The actor continued, “The goal is that we can get to a point where it is the norm, and that this doesn’t have to be some uncharted waters, that eventually this is just the way it is. That representation across the board is how we make films.”
Further addressing the controversy in her statement, Gunderson highlighted why representation is paramount on the big screen.
“I was one of a few writers they had on it over the years, which is very common for screenwriting of course,” she concluded.“I had very little to do with the final script. But I was proud to see a happy queer couple (even for a few seconds) onscreen. I know they got a lot of s*** for this inclusion, but stuff like this matters because beautiful love like this exists.”
