Snoop Dogg is setting the record straight. He’s had a lot to say recently about LGBTQIA+ characters in kids’ movies. The music icon faced criticism after talking about a scene from Disney/Pixar’s 2022 movie, ‘Lightyear’.
He had commented on the film’s scene. Alisha Hawthorne, voiced by Uzo Aduba, shares a kiss with her wife. They also welcome a baby. Snoop, 53, said this moment "threw him off" during an episode of the "It’s Giving" podcast. He even mentioned it made him scared to go to the movies.
His initial comments didn’t go over well. Fans and even ‘Lightyear’ screenwriter Lauren Gunderson spoke up. They used Instagram to defend the story. Snoop himself later posted on Instagram on Wednesday, August 27th. He shared a clip from "Hollywood Unlocked". In it, TV personality T.S. Madison called him out on "TMZ Live". "It caught me off guard and I didn’t have an answer for my grandkids," Snoop said in his post on Instagram. "All my gay friends know what it is, they been lovingly calling me out. My fault for not knowing the answers for a 6-year-old. Teach me to learn. I’m not perfect."
Madison, 47, pointed out what seemed like a double standard. She questioned why Snoop was okay with women dancing nearly naked or kissing each other in his music videos. Yet, he didn’t support a sweet scene between women in ‘Lightyear’. She felt his comments hinted at a bit of homophobia.
Snoop, who has seven grandkids, told the "It’s Giving" hosts he wasn’t ready to explain things. His young grandson asked, "Papa Snoop, how did she have a baby with a woman?" Snoop felt put on the spot. He said, "They’re throwing me in the middle of stuff I don’t have answers for." He added, "These are kids. Do we have to show that at this age? They’re gonna ask questions. I don’t have the answer." The podcast segment with his interview has since been taken down.
Lauren Gunderson, one of the writers for ‘Lightyear’, spoke up earlier this week. She plainly stated, "I created the LIGHTYEAR lesbians." She explained her process, saying, "In 2018, I was a staff writer at Pixar – a cool place, grateful to work there, learned tons from kind and awesome creative people." Gunderson continued, "As we wrote early versions of what would become LIGHTYEAR, a key character needed a partner, and it was very natural to write ‘she’ instead of ‘he’." She knew a small detail like that could mean a lot for representation. "Small line, big meaning," she noted. "I was glad they kept it. I’m proud of it. To infinity. Love is love." She shared her thoughts on Instagram.
When ‘Lightyear’ first came out, the LGBTQIA+ character caused a stir among some viewers. The scene was even cut for a while. Disney then received a lot of criticism for removing it, so the scene was put back in. Chris Evans, who voiced Buzz Lightyear, stood up for the story at that time.
He told Variety in June 2022 that he was happy about the inclusion. "It’s beautiful and wonderful, I’m glad [to have such inclusion]," he said. Evans felt frustrated that this was even a big deal. "It’s hard not to feel a little frustrated that this even has to be a topic of conversation. That it is this kind of ‘news’," he stated. Evans went on to say that the goal is for this to be normal. "The goal is that we get to a point where this is the norm, and it doesn’t have to be uncharted territory, that it ultimately just is. That representation across the board is how we make movies," he explained.
Gunderson again stressed why representation on the big screen is so important. "I was one of a few staff writers who worked on the project over the years, which is very common in screenwriting, of course," she finished. "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) on screen. I know they took a lot of flack for this inclusion, but things like this matter because there is such beautiful love as this."