For months, The Walt Disney Company was engaged in a heated battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The trouble began when now-fired Disney CEO Bob Chapek spoke out against Florida’s controversial “Parental Rights in Education” bill. The bill had also been dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The bill prohibits K through 3rd-grade educators from speaking about things like sexual orientation and gender identity. Critics of the bill have said that it unfairly targets the LGBTQ+ community.
For years, Disney has been a large supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, but has also donated to politicians who fight against LGBTQ+ rights. While it looked like Disney had given up the fight against DeSantis, on March 22, 2023, they decided to throw a one-two punch. On March 22, Disney announced that it would be hosting the 2023 Out & Equal Summit. Out & Equal is a non-profit that advocates for workplace equality for the LGTBQ+ community. Major companies will be attending the Summit, including Apple, Amazon, Hilton, McDonald’s, and Walmart.
Celebrity chef José Andrés shared the following tweet just hours after Disney announced that they would be hosting the summit.
And @jaleo at @WaltDisneyWorld will host everyone coming and create a special menu where a rainbow over the American blue sky will show that you can have the freedom to love whom you want to love…🇺🇸🌈 #WeThePeople🌈
And @jaleo at @WaltDisneyWorld will host everyone coming and create a special menu where a rainbow over the American blue sky will show that you can have the freedom to love whom you want to love…🇺🇸🌈 #WeThePeople🌈 https://t.co/XWcVpAjsKO
— Chef José Andrés 🕊️🥘🍳 (@chefjoseandres) March 23, 2023
Jaleo by José Andrés is one of many popular restaurants located in Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort. The restaurant serves up authentic Spanish cuisine, focusing on tapas, paella, and sangria.
Andrés is a two-star Michelin chef, who is not only known for his incredible restaurants, but also his humanitarian work. Andrés is the founder of World Central Kitchen. World Central Kitchen is a non-profit that brings meals to places that have experienced natural disasters. The non-profit provided aid and meals throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Andrés also brought the kitchen to Puerto Rico after the devastating earthquakes, as well as Ukraine, which is dealing with attacks from Russia.
The Out & Equal Workplace Summit will take place from September 11 – September 14, just weeks after Florida holds its presidential primary election. Governor DeSantis hopes to be the Republican presidential nominee.
