Disney Rewarded for “Positive Contributions” to Lesbian and Gay Representation

Disney was recently awarded for its “positive contributions” to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer representation in one of its television shows.

The Walt Disney Company has seen its fair share of criticism when it comes to the decisions it made with respect to representation and diversity on the big and small screen. The Mouse House and many Walt Disney Studios productions have been called out for promoting a “woke” agenda due to casting actors of different races and centering stories from different cultures and sexualities.

However, while some may be upset with the company, it was rewarded for its work: a Walt Disney Studios production has won a GLAAD media award.

As reported by DTVA News on X, formerly Twitter, Disney won a GLAAD award for its work on Hailey’s On It! 

The account wrote, “Congratulations to Hailey’s On It! on it’s Outstanding Animated Kids & Family award on the @GLAAD Awards Hailey was awarded for it’s positive contributions to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer representation on a television series.” 

Hailey’s On It! features a queer character: Becker. At present, Becker is the only major character in the show that we know identifies within the LGBTQ+ umbrella.

Congratulations to Hailey's On It! on it's Outstanding Animated Kids & Family award on the @GLAAD Awards

Hailey was awarded for it's positive contributions to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer representation on a television series.#HaileysOnIt #GLAADAwards pic.twitter.com/ToHEDy2Je1

— DTVA News (@DisneyTVANews) March 15, 2024

This is also not the only award Disney has won in this vein. The Mouse House has also won an award for one of its more controversial shows—a reboot—The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. The Proud Family won a second NAACP Award for Outstanding Animated series.

It has already been renewed for a third season, and some anticipate a spinoff with The Boulevardez family taking center stage.

Congratulations to @TheProudFamily Louder And Prouder for it's second @NAACP Award for Outstanding Animated Series.

The series has a third season on the way with a potential spin-off on The Boulevardez Family in development.#TheProudFamily #TheProudFamilyLouderandProuder pic.twitter.com/XauHWSxzF2

— DTVA News (@DisneyTVANews) March 15, 2024

It seems obvious at this point that the company is going to continue down this track of making sure different identities find themselves represented in Disney productions.

While Disney CEO Bob Iger has made clear storytelling must come first at Disney (rather than political messaging), there are certainly ways to make that happen with stories from queer and different ethnocultural identities as well.

Congratulations to Disney!