"Disappointed" doesn't even come close to how Gabrielle Union feels about Disney's public stance on Florida's controversial legislation that critics have dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill.
The actress expressed her thoughts on the matter to Variety on March 16, at the red carpet premiere of the Cheaper by the Dozen remake. The movie is by Disney, whose CEO recently condemned the Florida bill and announced his company has paused political donations in the state following backlash over the group's previous lack of public stance on the matter and its past contributions to lawmakers who have supported the legislation.
"Somebody asked me, 'Are you disappointed?' I'm disappointed when my order isn't right at In-N-Out," Union said. "I don't even think that's a word that you could use for something like this, where children's lives are literally hanging in the balance."
She continued, "We need to own that if you truly are taking stands against hate and oppression, you should not fund hate and oppression. Period. The damage is done."
Critics of the Florida legislation, which would limit discussions regarding gender identity and sexual orientation in schools, have said it will harm members of the LGBTQ+ community. For weeks, many people, including Disney employees, have called on the company, which employs more than 65,000 people at its Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, to denounce the bill.
"I think a lot of people reached out to him. And if you have to see my child for that to be to be the difference maker, that's not enough. There's a lot of kids out there, not just famous ones," said Union, whose 14-year-old stepdaughter Zaya Wade is a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
E! News has reached out to Disney for comment on Union's remarks and has not heard back.
During Disney's annual call with shareholders on March 9, CEO Bob Chapek said, "We were opposed to the bill from the outset, but we chose not to take a public position on it because we thought we could be more effective working behind the scenes, engaging directly with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. And we were hopeful that our longstanding relationships with those lawmakers would enable us to achieve a better outcome. But despite weeks of effort, we were ultimately unsuccessful."
Chapek said he called Florida Governor Ron DeSantis "to express our disappointment and concern that if legislation becomes law, it could be used to unfairly target" LGBTQ+ kids and families." He said the governor agreed to meet with him and LGBTQ+ members of Disney's senior team in Florida for further discussion and "committed to me that he wanted to make sure that this law could not be weaponized in any way by individuals in the state or groups in the state to unduly harm or target gay, lesbian, nonbinary, or transgender kids and families."
"Disney contacted our office today to speak with the governor. This is the first time we have heard from Disney regarding [the bill]," a spokeswoman for DeSantis said in a statement to several outlets that day. "The governor did take the call from Mr. Chapek. The governor's position has not changed. No in-person meeting has been scheduled yet."
During the call with Disney shareholders, Chapek also said the company is "signing the Human Rights Campaign's statement opposing such legislative efforts around the country and pledging $5 million towards organizations, including the HRC, working to protect LGBTQ+ rights."
Two days later on March 11, following further backlash, he issued an apologetic memo to Disney employees and announced that the company is pausing all political donations in Florida.
"Thank you to all who have reached out to me sharing your pain, frustration and sadness over the company's response to the Florida 'Don't Say Gay' bill," he wrote in part, per The Hollywood Reporter. "Speaking to you, reading your messages, and meeting with you have helped me better understand how painful our silence was. It is clear that this is not just an issue about a bill in Florida, but instead yet another challenge to basic human rights. You needed me to be a stronger ally in the fight for equal rights and I let you down. I am sorry."